Walking in the Cold
by atom-bomb
Summary: His dreams all completed and a little unsure of them, Ash decides to take a break and return to Pallet Town. He decides to take things easy, but he quickly realizes that his friendship with Gary is about to spire out of control. Palletshipping!
1. Back to the Real World

**Chapter 1**

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Hey you all! First things first.**  
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Some universe alterations:

I find the idea of ten year olds setting out on an adventure quite silly - but the fact that all that stuff happened in only a handful of years is even worse. So, all the different arcs took place over EIGHT years. And I'm not that familiar with the newest series of the anime, but whatever. Ash challenged the Elite Four and won. Ash has become one of the best trainers around, and that also plays a role. Anything else that doesn't appear canon, I'm sorry for. But I only watched the Kanto and Jhoto seasons. Never had the opportunity to watch the others, but the main stuff (like what pokemon Ash and Gary acquired) I look up on the internet.

Also, I know Gary later moved from Pallet to other towns and stuff after he decided to become a researcher but now he's back in Pallet, and has been back for quite a while.

I hope you enjoy the story. This will definitely be a multi-chapter fic, and I got some exciting things planned. Or at least, I think they are exciting. :P

**Note: **I can only dream about owning Pokemon. But I don't, so I dream up stories like this one. I'd anyway gay-ify the canon so much :D

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People change. It is a simple fact of life. If everyone was still expecting the ten year old Ash Ketchum, they would be making a huge mistake. A lot has happened since I left Pallet Town eight years ago, and thinking back to all those times, it makes me nostalgic and almost sad. Countless battles were fought, even more friends were made, and even the rivalries along the way seemed nice. Life had been good.

And now I am standing here and looking over my home town. Quiet and peaceful, it was the same as ever. It's odd to see something so unchanging when you have seen the world and all of the different things it had to offer, but I had always known that this place was my anchor – my haven.

"Pika?" the yellow Pokémon on my shoulder queried.

I nodded firmly and set down the hill to re-enter my previous life. The one I had been leading for the past eight years had come to a close. It was bound to happen, and I silently dreaded this moment for God knows how long. And now that it was here – it didn't seem that bad. I set out to learn things, train Pokémon, and conquer them all. I hadn't achieved that wholly, but who cares? I came as damn close as anyone could.

The little path into Pallet Town was easy enough to remember, and before I knew it, I was in from of my old home. Well, it had always been my home, but it was strange to know there was a physical house that was _mine _after all of the tents and Pokémon centers I had slept in. But I was always alone - cold. Even with all my friends there, they never provided what I wanted.

Of course, ten year old me didn't even think about any of that, but as you get older, you change, your body change, and the natural _want _for somebody appears.

"Is that my boy I see out there?" I heard Mother calling from inside. There was a clang of plates and Mom was instantly in front of me, laughing and crying.

She flung her hands around me, and I brought my hands around her. Pikachu jumped onto Delia's shoulder and hugged her head – as awkward of an embrace as it was. When Mom pulled back, I couldn't help but notice the wet spots on my jacket, but they didn't matter – they were already tattered and wasted.

Oh well, time for new ones.

"I've missed you so much!" Mother cried out, smiling at me.

"Me too, mom," I said. "It's good to be home."

"Come inside," she started walking up the small path to the porch. "I'll make you some tea."

When we were inside, my mother took my backpack from me, and sat it down. She led me to the kitchen and started brewing a pot of tea. She reached into some cupboards and retrieved a plate and a box of cookies, serving me them. I smiled at her gesture – even though I was now an adult, she still saw me as her son. I guess that will never change, and it felt oddly comfortable knowing that.

"Thank you," I said when she handed me the tea.

I had arrived at around noon, and the afternoon was spent talking to my mom of everything that had happened since she last saw me. It had only been a few months, so it wasn't as if I had to relay my whole life to her, but knowing that I was back for good – well, it made me sad to realize that this was the last time I'd be telling her about my adventures for quite a while.

Not that I planned to stop living now that I had traveled the whole of the world, I just wanted, maybe _needed_, for live to go at a slightly slower pace for a while. It wasn't my only reason for returning, but I'll think about that later.

* * *

My alarm clock still had the exact same sound to it, and I was surprised it still worked after all the years of neglect after we fixed it. My bed was far too small for me, who had grown quite tall and if I might add, muscular. Mom had long since replaced the old bedding, and thank God she got something that resembled a young man's tastes.

Tiny as it was, it was still a bed. And it was _my _bed. I sat upright and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, yawning. I looked around a bit – apart from the new sheets, it looked exactly the same as always, and I felt a bit of embarrassment to see all my childishness still in it.

Ancient posters of Pokémon tournaments and competitions were still stuck to the wall, and I found myself smiling at the thought that I actually competed in and won some of them. I wondered briefly what I would have done if somebody told me back then that in eight years I would have achieved all my dreams? I certainly would have set out on my journey with even more motivation, if that would have been possible.

But it's funny. I don't feel like my dreams matter so much now. I've done what I set out to do. Now what?

The door opened slightly and my smiling mother peeked inside. "Breakfast is ready, dear."

"Thanks mom," I said and got out of bed.

Mom had gotten me some clothes, and I threw on a shirt to cover my bare upper body. Not that I was ashamed of it – hell no, training with Pokémon and travelling the world on foot did wonders for my body and I was very proud of how I developed. No, I merely put on my shirt out of decency.

As I sat down, Mr. Mime brought me and Mom's breakfast. The Pokémon then got him and Pikachu some food and we all sat at the table and started eating. Mom was reading some letter and I took the time to look at her. She was happy as ever, and it was hard to believe that she got any older. She looked exactly as she did when I left, and I guess it helped to make things normal again.

"So, what are you going to today?" she asked as she lay the letter down.

I answered her with some bacon still in my mouth. Some things still stay the same! "I was thinking of going to Professor Oak. We had talked on me helping him out with the Pokémon there."

"That's good. But aren't you going to take a little break?"

"No. I want to stay busy. Besides, this isn't a holiday," I said with a slight smile on my face. "It's strange to say this, but I actually need to start working or something."

"Oh, Ash. That must sound so boring to you," she commented.

"I guess, but I'm still going to be around Pokémon. That's my passion. And I told you, I want to take things easy for a while. You know, take a little break from all the commotion."

"So your trainer days aren't completely over?" she asked, with a little hope in her voice.

I chuckled, "Not at all. I'm staying in Pallet for a while, gonna take life easy and just train my Pokémon in the mean time."

"Maybe this will do you a lot of good. Bring you back to reality a bit. Living a dream life for too long can make you forget about other things. Other things that also matter."

"Are you talking about yourself?" I laughed.

Mom giggled and blushed, "Not necessarily! But you know what I mean. No matter how much you love it, life isn't just Pokémon training, and I'm glad you've realized it. I was afraid that when you reach this age you'd just delve deeper into your passion and disappear from our lives entirely."

Okay, Mom, you're getting a bit too sappy.

"This is just temporary," I reminded her. "Just a year or two."

Mom smiled at me weakly. I knew she wanted me to stay here forever, but I couldn't. Not with me wanting to still experience more. But trust me to take a break and still make some kind of adventure out of it – I was excited to work with Professor Oak, and it presented me with an opportunity to learn more about Pokémon. Naturally, the research crap would bore me, but he'd said I would be working with the Pokémon while he and Gary do the research stuff.

Ah, Gary. Former rival and researcher extraordinaire, he was Professor Oak's prodigy and own grandson. We've long abandoned our rivalry and settled for what I like to call a competitive friendship.

I hadn't seen him in quite a while, and it was odd to realize that I considered him when making my decision to come back to Pallet. I haven't told anyone that he had anything to do with it, but he always haunted my thoughts. No matter where I went, Gary was always at the back of my mind. Yes, how sad.

I had always thought it was just me being so obsessed with beating Gary, and I guessed it was just me measuring myself up to the guy. But those thoughts were wiped away when I had discovered things about myself and what I like in life.

Okay, so it's pretty stupid to come to Pallet Town and wanting to see Gary Oak. What would happen when I saw him? 'Oh, hi? How are you? Bye!' No, that wasn't what I had in mind, but then, I myself didn't know what I wanted to do about Gary when I got here.

Wait, I'm lying. I know exactly what I want.

"Ash? Is that you?" the voice of the old professor came from the behind the door.

"My God, how you've grown!" Professor Oak exclaimed as he opened the door to see me.

I laughed, "Good to see you too, Professor."

He regarded me for a second before he beckoned me inside, "Come in, come in. Mind the mess," he said as we climbed over some boxes that stood almost in the doorway, "Had a delivery earlier this morning, but we're so busy that we haven't had the time to put the things away."

"What's up?" I asked.

"We got in a group of ill Dratini, and we are trying our best to treat them. But they are being difficult. They seem very distraught," Professor Oak explained as he led me towards a room where some people where standing around a tank with what looked like some fifteen or so Dratini inside.

"Please hand me that syringe," Gary ordered an aide as he cared for a Dratini spread out on an operating table. The Pokémon look beat and tired, but still had an aggressive gleam in its eyes as it wearily stared at Gary as he brought the syringe closer to its body.

Just when Gary wanted to insert the needle, the Dratini snapped at his hand – drawing blood and causing Gary to drop the syringe. He cried out in pain, clutching his hand while he searched for a towel.

I looked at the Dratini and saw how afraid it looked. I moved closer to it, and when it saw me, its body tensed and it pulled its head back a bit. I inched closer to the dragon and extended my hand at it while looking it in the eye.

"Don't be afraid, we're not gonna hurt you, little fella," I said, and gave the Pokémon the most comforting look I could manage. It seemed to relax a little, but went rigid again as I let my hand drop to its body.

It made a little growl, but I eased it with my hand and kept telling it to be calm. Pikachu jumped onto the table and started talking to the Pokémon in their little language. The Dratini squawked back, and I could hear the weakness in its voice. Pikachu move closer to the Pokémon and comforted it. Together with Pikachu, I managed to fully relax the Dratini and it let me take it into my arms.

When I turned around, all of the people in the room were silent and looking at me in awe. Professor Oak smiled at me and Gary was just staring at me with those green eyes of his – his hand wrapped in a towel. He moved closer to me, with the syringe in his other hand. "Ash, we got to get this into it, its life depends on it."

I gave a nod and looked down at the Dratini, who was staring at me with wide eyes.

"We have to give you some medicine; do you think you can handle that?" I asked the poor creature.

It gave the syringe a last glance before it looked back at me and nodded slightly. I nodded at Gary and he approached us slowly. He carefully brought up the needle to the Dratini's body, and I made sure to hold him still.

I caught an amazing whiff from Gary's hair as he leaned in front of me as he injected the Dratini.

The Dratini winced a bit, but allowed Gary to finish. Gary stood up and put the syringe on the table beside us. He looked at the Dratini in my arms as he stood rubbing his bitten hand. The little dragon caught sight of it and extended his head to Gary's hand. He rubbed his head against it, the gesture treating as an apology.

* * *

"You're not here for five minutes and you already proved your superior Pokémon handling skills," Gary chuckled.

Ever since Jhoto, Gary had grown to be a real nice person, but hearing such an outright compliment was rare. Shit, Gary even just admitted that I am better than him.

"Thanks," I laughed coyly; I was never good at handling compliments. Especially not when Gary is looking at me like that with a smirk on his face. He looked as good as ever. It was odd to see him smaller than me – I had finally outgrown him. He was actually quite small anyway - a head shorter than me and a lean frame; it suited his researcher profession well.

"All the more reason why I want him to help us out," Professor Oak said as he gathered some papers on his desk.

"You never told me Ash would come work _here_," Gary said with surprise in his voice.

I didn't know if it was a good surprise or not, but Gary didn't look appalled or anything.

"I must have forgotten," the professor apologized with a laugh. "But you two are friends, right? So you'd work well together."

Gary and I shared a glance as we smirked at each other. We'd never admitted it openly, but we could make a mean team if we wanted to. Nothing like a bit of competition to push the other to perform better.

"Well, he'd better not think he's gonna steal the spot light. Calming down one Dratini is hardly a memorable feat," Gary mocked playfully.

"Says the one with the bitten hand," I pointed out and I think I caught Gary blush, but he looked away as he chuckled.

"Whatever," he mumbled a moment later.

Professor Oak looked at the two of us and laughed. Like I said, competitive friends. The professor motioned for us to go, him following us closely, having found what he was looking for.

"Professor, I wanted to ask. Why weren't the Dratini taken to a Pokémon center?" I asked just as we entered the room with the tank.

"Well, the problem is, they've got some disease that we've never encountered before. All of them. We are currently trying to develop a vaccine for them," he explained.

"We've already lost two Dratini," Gary added.

We reached the edge of the tank, and the Dratini from earlier swam up to me. Honestly, it didn't look that sick, just rather tired. I extended my hand to it and rubbed against its face. It seemed that it managed to calm down all the Dratini, but perhaps that was Pikachu – he stayed behind while Professor Oak went to look for his papers.

"What kind of disease do they have?" I asked.

Gary looked at me, "It's some kind of virus. But it's strange: only the Dratini seem to catch it. And when they have it, they sporadically get better or worse from time to time. We can't predict how long they will last."

Wow. Not that I understand the complications of that, but it sounded serious and my heart bled for the batch of Pokémon.

* * *

It was evening and I was having dinner at Professor Oak's. My mom had also joined us, and we found ourselves deep in conversation and laughter. I can't say it felt like old times again, because honestly I can't remember if we ever spent times like this, even though Gary and I had been friends before our Pokémon days.

Professor Oak was telling my mom this joke that I didn't really get, but that's just me. Gary was sitting beside me and chuckled from time to time as his grandfather went on. I know it's criminal, but I couldn't stop myself from stealing glances at him.

He was also so close, I could practically feel the heat from his arm. I rather tried to concentrate on my food, and I didn't say much during the meal. I also tried to tune into the jokes, but they really aren't my thing.

"Why so silent, Ashy-boy?" Gary asked as we stood in the kitchen doing the dishes.

I found myself staring at the dish in my hand and realized I had concentrated so hard on NOT looking at Gary that I kind of zoned out a little.

"It's nothing, I'm just not used to being back yet," I said. Hopefully it sounded convincing. After all, it wasn't an outright lie.

"Okay."

We finished the dishes and headed to his room to chill a bit. Professor Oak was anyway absorbed by Mom's story about a friend of her's, a Jigglypuff and God knows what else.

It had been quite a while since I had been in Gary's room, and it looked completely different. Unlike mine, all the childhood elements were replaced by more mature things, but it still looked as pristine and organized as ever. I didn't really expect something else, but it was odd to be in there none the less.

I noticed something on the bookcase that stood against the wall near his computer. I went closer and took the broken half of a Pokéball into my hands. Gary came to my side and he laughed.

"We were such boys arguing over that ball," he said as he took it and looked at it.

I smiled at him, "I'm actually glad it broke. Now we each have a piece of that day."

He gave me fleeting glance before he put it back on the shelf. He slumped down onto his bed, and I looked around. The only chair available was the one at the computer, and it looked rather uncomfortable. So I lay down beside Gary, and luckily he didn't protest.

"I hope you get used to being back in Pallet," he said as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling. I tried to see if there might be a particular spot he might be looking at – but it was spotless.

"Yeah, me too. But things look exciting around here," I said and Gary laughed.

"Right. Sick Dratini that try to rip off your arm? I bet you'd love it," he said.

"Oh stop whining, Gary," I elbowed him and laughed, "It couldn't have been that bad."

He sat up, leaning on his elbow. He pulled out a mock face. "At least the great Ash Ketchum was there to save the day. What would we have done without you?"

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**A/N: **Er, so hopey you likey? This is just the beginning, and I don't think anyone can really judge what will happen and stuff. This might just turn out to focus on the Ash/Gary relationship, with the sick Dratini as the side story. Besides, smut and lemon is anyway the BOMB! Like, bigger and badder than Hiroshima! But at least it makes people happy! :D

And while you wait for me to write the next chapter (yes, I'm writing it sequentially and will update as soon as I finish a chapter) you can click this beautiful review button just below. Isn't it awesome? It just drags you in, and when you click to review... Guess what happens? No matter what say, you make a writer (read: me) HAPPY!!! Except when you flame... Then me no happy. LOL. But tell me what you want :)


	2. The Disadvantages of Thinking

**Chapter 2**

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Hope this chapter is a good one.**  
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**So what? Even if life was great up until now, and there was no real reason to believe that would change anytime soon, why did I feel so beaten? So what could it be? Was it really my desire for something, _someone, _in my life? I knew I wanted someone to care for, but it was a bit strange to think that I needed it so badly. So badly that it hurt.

Okay, so suppose I do get that someone. What then? I think I need to start thinking beyond my dreams, because look where I am now – at the top and somehow not as happy as I should be. Don't get me wrong, it had been the best eight years, but it still felt like something was lacking.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu whispered as he tugged at my nose. I glanced down towards the yellow Pokémon.

We were sprawled out on a slight slope in the park, with him lying on my chest. But I guess he had sensed me thinking deeply. Honestly, I wished I could just concentrate on the clouds drifting above, but in the end that didn't really matter. No, for once I was going to try and think.

"I'm a bit unsure of the future," I said. Pikachu's ears twitched a bit, trying to understand. "That's all."

My friend eyed me warily, and I could tell he wanted me to open up even more. Sometimes I was entirely unsure of just _how much _of our human crap Pokémon could understand. At times, they seemed so clueless of everything around them, but at other times, and like now, Pikachu understood exactly that I was unhappy.

But would he understand if I told him?

"Ash, is that you?" I heard a voice coming from the path a few feet from me.

No, it wasn't _a _voice. It was _his _voice.

I gave a slight wave to signal I'm okay. You can move right along now. As hard as I am thinking, I'm trying to solve all my problems without bringing you into the equation. Because, let's be honest, how rational can I think with you in my mind?

I felt the grass stir beside me, and the presence of Gary's body followed shortly after. He wasn't necessarily close; I was just that attuned to how it felt when he was near me. It felt good. Too good.

"The Dratini we treated yesterday seems a bit better. Thanks a lot," he said softly.

I opened my left eye and looked at him. He was sitting with his hands around his knees, watching as the sun rose. He was as unreadable as ever – but that was a good thing. Any Gary was better than an obviously angry Gary.

"That's good. I hope today goes well also," I said as I turned my gaze to the sky.

Gary made some sound as he agreed, then, "What are you doing out here so early, by the way?"

I took a few seconds before I took Pikachu in my arms and sat up, before turning to face Gary. "I could ask you the same question."

Gary lifted a small bag I hadn't noticed before. "Just had to fetch this from someone. They are leaving for Viridian City like," he glanced at his watch, and I caught sight of his soft and beautiful hands, "now, so had to go early."

I nodded and made an 'oh' sound, but Gary just looked at me expectantly. I didn't really know what to tell him – hell, I didn't even know what I was doing there myself. Gary extended his arm to rub behind Pikachu's ear as he waited for me to answer. I hadn't realized Gary had been _that _close, and I could practically smell his amazing aroma as the wind blew softly from behind him. What was it called again? Hmmm.

Oh yeah, lavender.

"I'm just taking in the quiet. Early morning in Pallet is something else," I finally concluded, hoping that it was kind of convincing.

Pikachu jumped onto Gary's lap and he gave my Pokémon a nice scratch on his belly.

"So you're happy to be back?" he asked.

"I think I am. A bit too early to tell, but I'm looking forward to it," I said.

Gary gave me a glance, smile forming on his face. "Good. Glad to see that brain of yours still remembers where you came from."

Ha Ha. Real funny Gary.

"Come on, let's get going," I said and got up, followed by Pikachu jumping onto my out stretched hand, and then finally settling on my shoulder.

* * *

"You should come visit, now that you have the time," Brock's voice came from the computer.

"I'll come as soon as I get the chance. I started helping out at Professor Oak's lab," I explained.

Brock made a face of surprise before laughing, "You gonna become a researcher now, Ash?" he asked.

I snorted, "Hell no, I'm helping out with the Pokémon they got here."

"Well, just don't get too busy. We are still your friends, you know," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah," I said stupidly.

Truth was, I'd very much like to see my old friends again. Brock, Misty, all of them. I think I still actually owe Misty a bike; then again, I owe so many girls so many bikes. Oh well.

Gary called out to me from another room, "Ash, can you help here?"

"Just a sec," I called back to him, "Listen Brock, I gotta go. Talk to you later, and relax – I will visit you."

Brock chuckled, "We'll see. Anyway, bye then."

The computer terminal shut down and I made my way over to the room where Gary and a few aides were busy working. I walked over to where Gary was bent over a table, with a Dratini sprawled out on it. He was inspecting the Pokémon's mouth, and I already saw where I was needed.

I moved over to the other side, and cupped the little face in my hands, and the Dratini looked at me in fear. I told it to relax, and with some effort, the Pokémon finally calmed down. Gary took a small flash light and peeked into the mouth briefly.

"Okay, next," he called to an aide.

We did this with all the Dratini, and it took quite a while to ease them all down. But in the end, it was all done. Gary was continuously checking their mouths and relayed the results to an aide, who wrote it down on a clipboard.

It was hardly exciting work, but I wanted to help the Dratini with whatever was wrong with them. The last Dratini we looked at was the one that had bitten Gary, and I could see he stressed a bit when he had to look at its mouth.

He frowned once he saw the Pokémon's mouth.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Nothing. It's mouth is fine," he said as he straightened up. "All the others have the little white spots in their mouths."

"So it's okay?" I asked and took the Pokémon into my arms.

"I don't know," Gary shrugged. "Maybe it's a symptom of the virus, and it skipped this one."

"I don't understand."

"It's like with the common cold. Most people get a sore throat and a running nose, but not always. Like me, for instance, I just get the leaky nose."

I frowned, "What other symptoms do the Dratini have?"

"Well, they are very tired. And anxious, almost, _afraid. _And they all seem to have stopped talking. Only this one had made a noise," Gary explained.

"So maybe it's getting better," I said and looked at the Pokemon in my arms. It was obviously tired, but I could swear it looked a bit better than the day before.

"Hopefully. We'll just have to wait and see," Gary said.

I handed the Dratini over to an aide and followed Gary as he left the lab. We went to the kitchen and grabbed some lunch. We had worked all morning – me tending to the Dratini while Gary inspected them all.

I hoped something else would come up soon, because no matter how much I wanted to care for the Dratini, it was already beginning to bore me. Well, I guess I couldn't complain. This is what I wanted after all.

Last night was actually quite awesome. Gary and I just joked and talked about random stuff the whole time. Of course, we constantly teased each other, but I guess we are so used to it by now, that any conversation would feel awkward without it.

"Here," Gary said as he pushed a plate with a sandwich in front of me.

"Just one?" I asked.

Gary rolled his eyes, "You're huge, Ashy-boy. You'll get by."

"What? I'm not fat! This is muscle! Not that much, but I need my food," I defended.

"Then make your own, I'm not your bitch," Gary said with smirk.

Not yet, Gary Oak. Not yet.

Shit! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! Don't think things like that, 'cause now you're blushing and he's looking at you and smirking and… shit. Stupid.

Ugh, I'm such an idiot.

"Did I say something to embarrass you, Ashy-boy?" he said with his eyebrows raised, and his mouth curled into an amused smiled.

Stop calling me that! Gah.

"Er, no." I said and averted my gaze from his eyes and took a bite out of my sandwich. That Gary made. For me.

Fuck, what's wrong with you, Ash Ketchum?!

* * *

It was quite a new feeling to just relax on the sofa and watch TV. It felt normal, and… I dunno, boring, I guess? Ugh, I swear, I have to find _something _very interesting to do and soon, otherwise I might just go insane.

An ad flashed for the upcoming Pokémon tournaments, and Pikachu immediately sat upright and tugged at my shirt and pointed to the screen.

"Maybe next year, Pikachu. I'm taking a little break," I said while playing with one of his ears.

He let out a small whine, but settled next to me and continued staring at the images of various Pokémon engaged in battle. My face flashed onto the TV, and there was a message next to it:

_Will recent Pokémon Master, Ask Ketchum, battle?_

_And will you be able to beat him?_

I laughed at the ridiculous message and got up, going to the kitchen. Mom was busy with dinner, and she needed to finish _now. _I'm hungry. She motioned for me to sit.

"Sit, Ash. I'm done," she said.

Yay!

"What did you make?" I asked her.

She turned around with a pot in her hand and scooped some of the food into my bowl. "Just some stew, honey."

I didn't need any further motivation and started devouring the food. Pikachu joined us when the ad was over, and it was kind of a little competition between him and me of who could eat the fastest. But naturally, Pikachu's stew was drowning in ketchup. So much ketchup.

"So how do you enjoy the work at Professor Oak?" Mom asked.

I wanted to say it bores me already.

"It's great. I can get used to it," I said instead.

Her face lit up, "That's great. And from what I saw last night, you and Gary can still be friends."

Er, I suppose _friends_ are okay.

"Mom, we never stopped being friends, it was just a little weird when we both started on our adventures."

Mom smiled at me. Yeah, defending our friendship really did prove what my mom just said. But hell, I aint complaining.

The little mouse beside me let out a humongous burp, sounding almost like an Exploud. Holy crap!

"Pikachu!" I laughed.

"Pika, pika," he said shyly, but then I let out an equal burp.

We all just laughed.

"You two are exactly the same," Mom said.

* * *

The lab was quiet, and only one or two aides were monitoring the various Pokémon. Gary was sitting at a desk and working on some papers, and Professor Oak was outside. Yes, I love this place actually.

I approached Gary and when he saw me, he smiled a bit.

"Ash, I have a favor to ask," he said, without even greeting.

"Sure," I said and sat down on a nearby chair.

"I have to go to Viridian City to get some supplies. Would you come with me?" he asked.

Okay, so that had nothing to do with treating Pokémon. Unless he needed my help with moving the supplies. Er?

"I'm going with the car this afternoon. Just thought you'd like to get a bit of air," he explained.

He was actually right. It was only my third day in Pallet and I was already bored. "Sure thing, Gary."

"Great. I just have to finish a few things then we can go," he said and returned to work on his papers.

I went to look outside for Professor Oak, and found him where his was crouching around a few Bulbasaur. Seeing them made me miss my own Bulbasaur, and I wish he was with me now, instead of storage. I could always just go inside and get him.

"Ash, good to see you," said Professor Oak when he spotted me.

"Thanks. These Bulbasoar look really good," I commented.

"They do. Hopefully they'll all find a nice trainer," he said.

"All of them?" I asked.

Professor Oak stood upright and gave me proud smile, "Believe it or not, your antics inspired quite a few kids in Pallet to want to become Pokémon trainers. I had to get a whole bunch of starter Pokémon so everyone could have one."

I gave a shy laugh, "Gee, I didn't know I had that effect on the kids here."

"No need to be modest. Maybe you should go collect your Bulbasaur and bring it out so it can talk to these here and sort of prepare them."

I nodded and walked back inside the lab. Gary wasn't at his desk, but I just made my way to the storage room to get Bulbasaur. There were quite a few Pokéballs, but I found the right one soon enough.

Holding Bulbasaur in my hands brought back a lot of memories. So many. He was definitely one of the Pokémon I relied on the most, but then again, all the Pokémon I had was essential to my team.

Nostalgia is a bitch.

I snapped out of my reminiscing and started to go back outside, but was stopped by soft sobbing coming from a door leading to the supply room. The door was slightly ajar, and I peeked in.

Gary was sitting against a wall, with his head between his legs. He cried softly, and my heart broke for whatever reason caused Gary to be sad. I moved closer, but he didn't notice me.

"Gary?" I asked in a soft voice.

He stopped sobbing, and gave a weak laugh. "Now I'm hearing your voice too. How sad."

"Gary," I said again and put my hand on his arm.

His head snapped up and he stared at me with shock. He gaped at me, and I could see he was struggling to speak.

"Ash! Wh-What are you do-doing here?" he asked nervously.

"I just heard you crying and came inside to check on you," I said and gave him a comforting smile.

"Oh," he said and turned his gaze to his side, looking at the blank wall.

"Why are you crying, Gary?" I dared to ask.

He didn't look at me when he said, "It's nothing."

I nodded, and then Gary got up. He pushed past me without saying anything and he left me standing alone in the storage room. Okay, this is so weird. Why on earth would Gary be sitting here and crying?

I went to the main room, and Gary was sitting at his desk, working. I didn't think about bothering him, afraid to make him angry. So I just went outside to where Professor Oak was, still with all the Bulbasaur.

I let mine out, and in a matter of seconds he spotted the others and started playing with them. No matter how beautiful the sight was, Gary crying had me worried and I kept wondering what was wrong.

* * *

Gary was driving, and I was just sitting and staring at the familiar scenery as we zipped nearer to Viridian City. I had left Pikachu with Professor Oak if he needed his help with the Dratini. I swear – Pikachu acted as the Dr. Phil of Pokémon sometimes. Or like a Chancey.

Gary had returned to his normal self, and I dared not probe him and ask what was wrong. No, I knew of better.

"Say Ashy-boy, how does it feel to be the 'Pokémon Master'?" he asked after a while, a grin on his face.

"Okay, I guess. Nothing too spectacular. I mean, there isn't a crowd of paparazzi following me, so that's good," I said and Gary laughed.

"Not what you expected, then?" he asked.

Erm, how do I say this?

"No, it's all good. It's just, I don't know what to do next," I explained.

Gary looked at me from the corner of his eye. He kept shifting his gaze from the road to me, and I felt myself blush. "What, Gary?"

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just checking if the correct Ash Ketchum is sitting beside me. You always seemed so brash and did everything without thinking."

I gave a laugh. "Gary, I was a little boy back then. I've grown up in the mean time."

Gary fixed his gaze on the road, but I could see he had this pleased smirk on his face. Fuck! What's it with Gary and smirking? I'd just like to wipe it off his face. With my mouth.

Okaaay, time to look at something else. Like that Pidgey in the tree. And the Spearow that's about to attack it. Oh wait, here comes a whole flock of Pidgey. Yup, the Spearow is fucked. Fucking fucked.

Ash! Stop. Thinking. NOW.

Not thinking.

Not thinking,

Not thi-

"Ash, why are you pulling your face like that?" Gary asked. I glanced over at him. He had a slight pout and his eyes were all beautiful and… and now he had me thinking again. Shit.

"I… uh… I wasn't pulling my face," I defended.

"Yes, you were," Gary said matter-of-factly.

"Was not!"

"Ash, are you sure you have grown up?" he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and refocused my attention on the trees. So now I had to try and not think without pulling a face. Or move my face so Gary couldn't see.

"I can still see your face," he said with traces of laughter in his voice.

"Eyes on the road, Gary. Eyes on the road."

* * *

**A/N: **Ohmigawd, I watched Date Night last night and was in the mood to write a bit of comedy. So... Hope it was okay. Haha. If you'd like a more hilarious fic, check out my other one, this one is gonna be a lot more serious. Anyhow. Thanks for reading. And like I said. When you click that review button, it makes my day.


	3. Effects of Being Euphorically Elated

**Chapter 3**

Thanks for everyone who has been reading up to this point. So, this chapter is actually part of the day that started with the previous one. Yup, a VERY eventful day. But really, don't we just love that?

Haha, enjoy.

Oh, don't know if you noticed, but the first paragraphs of the chapters follow directly onto one another, kinda like a monologue that will tell you how Ash's feelings are progressing.

**

* * *

**

It's funny when it hurts so badly, but it actually feels good. Like a pain you are addicted to, a drug. And to make things worse, you aren't really allowed to take that drug. No, just a small teaser, and the way it really tastes like is left for the imagination. So, I'm addicted to him. It hurts. And I still want _more_.

Am I greedy? I suppose. I guess that this is all just a lesson for me; to teach me to be satisfied with what I got, but I swear to God, that has never worked for me before. The desire to want more has always been what drove me. But there is one problem however.

Am I insatiable? Yes, I actually know what that means… But really, is my hunger too much? Will I be satisfied once I get what I want – him? I guess I'll never know until I get there. But with Gary it's different. It's not just about me. He also has feelings, and I'd never want to hurt him if I could have stopped it.

"We're here," Gary announced, his voice a bit lazy.

The afternoon was in full swing and the mild heat was just bearable. Gary got out of the car, and I noticed we were at the Pokémon Center in Viridian City. It was an old, familiar sight, and it drove me nostalgic for a moment.

"You coming?" Gary asked as he opened the back seat and retrieved a small box.

"Sure," I said.

The remainder of the drive had been silent, comfortably. I figured it would only provoke Gary if I asked him about his crying saga; after all, he was never one to really open up. Especially not to me.

I got out of the car and followed Gary into the building. Nurse Joy was stationed where you'd expect her, and a few Chancey shuffled about. It was quiet, with only two or three other trainers scattered about.

Gary walked up to Nurse Joy, and she smiled her usual friendly smile at us.

"What can I help you with today, gentlemen?" she asked.

"I'm just here to deliver these vaccines. Professor Oak from Pallet asked if they could be prepared here since our machine broke down and we haven't had the time to fix it," Gary said.

"Oh, I was wondering when you would come," she said and moved out from behind the counter. "Follow me."

Nurse Joy led us to a room where various medicines and drugs were located, and she pointed to a large machine that looked like it belonged to a chemistry lab. Gary put the box down on the table next to it and turned to Nurse Joy.

"The instructions are inside. I'll come back in two days to collect them," Gary said in a very businesslike tone.

I found it really cute how he composed himself to look all professional like, and in all honesty, the look suited him. No matter how good a trainer Gary was back in the day, I always thought that he'd end up walking in his grandfather's tracks.

"It's our pleasure. I do hope these vaccines help those Dratini," Nurse Joy said and took us back to the main lobby. "Why don't you two grab something to eat? It'll be dark by the time you get back to Pallet."

"Sure," Gary and I said in unison.

Nurse Joy smiled at us and we went to a little booth. Gary was staring out of the window, and I pretended to look around the place, but I was really stealing glances at Gary. I couldn't quite place his expression, but it seemed as he was far off into thought. Even when the food arrived, it took Gary a few seconds to realize it.

"You ok?" I asked, hoping he doesn't freak.

"Just a little tired. The whole thing with those Dratini is getting to me," he said as he pushed his food around. "It's been almost two weeks since they arrived and it's all I've been doing."

I eyed him carefully as he finally started eating. I knew he wasn't telling the whole truth, but that was just Gary. I had no idea how to comfort him. Gary was too smart to fall for the 'it will get better with time' crap.

"Is there any reason you _have _to stay in Pallet?" I asked. Gary looked at me with a little shock on his face. "I mean, I think Professor Oak can cope by himself. Then you can go somewhere and do what you like."

Gary gave a weak laugh. "I can't leave Pallet."

I frowned. "Why not?"

"You see, Ash, gramps is old. He needs someone there that can help him. Not some random person, but someone with a passion for research," Gary said and his eyes dropped to his plate of food.

I nodded. "Is that the only reason?"

Gary gave me a quick glance, his eyes filled with something that looked suspiciously like sadness, before he looked out of the window. The sun had finally started its descent.

"No," Gary said, just above a whisper.

I didn't push the question any further; it looked like Gary was thinking about how he wanted to explain his answer. He was quiet for a minute before he looked at me, before opening his mouth and closing it again.

"Hey! That's Ash Ketchum!" I heard a voice coming from the side.

Gary and I both yanked our heads into the direction and saw two young boys looking at me. They hurried over to our table, looking very excited. Gary giggled a bit as he saw my face. I hate this.

"We are such huge fans of you!" one of the boys said.

"Yeah, we watched all of your battles on TV," the other one drawled.

I gave Gary a quick glance, and he had an amused smile on his face.

"Ash, why don't you give them your autograph?" Gary suggested, and the two boy's face lit up.

I gaped at the traitorous friend, squinting my eyes. My fans didn't notice me, and instead they produced a piece of paper and a pen. I reluctantly took it.

"Who should I make this out to?" I asked, a hint of my old robotic voice returning.

"Jeremy and Kyle. You can just sign one, we're brothers," the one said.

I scribbled some note on the paper and made my signature. The two boys lit up in laughter.

"Oh man, mom will never believe this!" one said as I gave him the paper.

"She better. Thanks anyway," the other said and they ran off.

I looked out of the window, and I saw Gary out of the corner of my eye still looking the two boys. His mouth was curled into a smile and he finally looked at me.

I turned to him, and he seemed as if he couldn't contain his laughter.

"What?" I snapped.

"Come on, Ashy-boy. Is it really so bad to put smiles on those boys' faces?" he asked.

I gave a sigh. "Gary, after a thousand times it becomes annoying."

"I know, I know," he said, still amused.

I smiled at Gary, and we had eye contact for a moment. The smile slipped from Gary's face and then he started getting up. He said something about that we should probably go, and I followed him out of the Pokémon Center. We walked in silence to where he parked the car, and I kept looking at the ground. Don't know why.

"Er," came Gary's voice. "Where's the car?"

My head snapped up to scan the area, but Gary's car was nowhere to be found. Gary let out a sound of frustration as he stepped into the street and looked round.

"Fuck. Not this, not now," he muttered.

He dropped to his knees, looking utterly beaten. I walked over to him and saw that he started sobbing again. I kneeled down below him and put my arm around his shoulders. At first he flinched away, but I didn't let go and he just relaxed a bit.

"It's ok, Gary. We'll go to Officer Jenny, and she will sort everything out," I comforted him.

I helped him up, and he wiped the tears from his face. He gave a shaky laugh. "You must think I'm such a girl."

I wrapped my arms around him, trying to comfort him, but secretly loving the feeling of him pressing against my chest, with his soft and lavender scented hair just below my nose. "No, I don't. You're just a bit stressed out. Come, let's go to Officer Jenny."

He pulled away and wiped his tears away. I walked to the police station, and Gary followed me, quiet all the way.

"Afternoon, how can I help you?" Officer Jenny asked.

Gary walked out in front of me, "My car got stolen."

We relayed all the important information to Officer Jenny and she informed us that she would start investigating immediately. She gave us the address of a hotel we could go to, and said that we could check back in the morning to hear about the progress.

* * *

"I can't believe this," Gary said as he sat cross-legged on his bed, his head in his hands.

I thought about moving over and comforting him, but then, I have already hugged him and stuff, and I don't want to freak him out. It's just a car after all, not like somebody died. No, keep your distance and just talk to him.

"Officer Jenny said she'll do her best," I said sheepishly.

"Somehow that doesn't really make me feel better. They could be long gone by now," Gary whined, his voice sounding like it's being pulled over a grater.

I figured Gary had cried even more during the time I took to phone Mom and Professor Oak to tell them about what happened and that we are staying the night. My mom had offered to come fetch us, but I'd rather stay here and let us speak to Officer Jenny personally.

"Come on, let's go do something to get your mind off this," I suggested.

Gary looked up, his eyes wide. "I can't believe you. Ash, my car is _gone_. I can't pretend like nothing happened!"

Okay. Not the reaction I hoped for.

"But Gary, there's nothing you can do. And in the mean time you're beating yourself up over it," I said, and his expression softened a bit.

He looked down to his lap and sighed. "You're probably right, as much as I hate to admit it."

I smiled.

* * *

"Who knew Viridian City had such an active night live?" Gary asked, more rhetorical.

Yes, it was quite a shock. We were standing in the middle of a plaza, all outlined with various pubs and clubs. Throngs on people walked, danced and ran about. It was still early, but the place was definitely more vibrant than Pallet Town ever could be.

"Well, it's good to know for future reference," I commented and Gary gave a laugh.

Ever since we left the hotel room, he seemed outright determined not to stress over his car, and I thought it was a good sign. In my opinion, Gary spent too much time thinking, and that is always a bad thing.

"So, where to first?" Gary asked.

Two girls walked past us, looked at us, and then winked. Oh, god. Gary followed them with his head and laughed. Ugh, this is the last thing I need. If he met a girl, I think I'm the one who would fall into a depression.

Oh yes, Gary's question. I looked around the place, and one club, decorated with bright green and blue lights, caught my attention. "Let's try there," I said and pointed to the place. Gary nodded, and followed me as we made our way through all of the people.

The club was relatively busy, and the bar was swamped with people. Gary and I went to the counter, and waited.

"You know, I'd never have thought I'd be with _you _in and place like this," Gary said to me.

I chuckled, "Well, I don't have that much experience on the party scene, but I like to let go now and then."

The guy in front of us moved and it provided us with a gap to get to the counter. Gary and I stepped closer and waited to be served. The barman closest to us didn't seem to notice us standing there, and I just waited patiently.

The time went on, and some girls came up to the counter next to us. As soon as they reached the counter, the barman helped them. He talked to them and flirted a bit, and Gary shifted at my side, obviously irritated.

"Oh, for the love of God," he scoffed. "Excuse me, do I need to dress like a girl to be helped?" The barman heard him then and laughed.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't notice you standing here," the guy said.

"Bullshit, we've been here for quite a while now," Gary said, his voice flushed with irritation.

"Sorry dude," the barman apologized, but it didn't really sound that convincing.

"Just get me a vodka and lime," Gary said. He glanced at me. "What'll be, Ash?"

"Same," I said. Thing is, I'm not clued up at all on alcoholic drinks and stuff. I just hoped whatever vodka and lime is, it won't kill me or something.

As we waited for our drinks, a girl came up to us. "Hey you two! Haven't seen you around before," she said, smiling broadly.

"You wouldn't have. This isn't our scene, really," Gary said flatly.

The girl's eyes widened and she looked from Gary to me, then back to Gary. She nodded knowingly and then said, "That's so cute! I never knew _you _type of guys came over here. Usually the gays hang out on their own side of town."

I think my mouth fell open.

Oh my god.

Gary snorted. "I didn't mean _that_," he said, he was blushing furiously. "I meant we aren't from around here. We live in Pallet. Ash here is just a friend."

The girl's face was reduced to shock, and she started apologizing profusely. "Oh, shit, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

"Here's your drinks," the barman announced. Gary and I grabbed our drinks.

"Relax, I'm not offended," Gary said. Then turned to me, "Ash, are you?"

I couldn't form any type of words, so I just shook my head.

"You see. Now if you would excuse us," Gary said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Sure, sure. Again, sorry. But honestly, you two would make a sexy couple," she chirped.

Gary was busy taking a sip, and upon hearing what the girl said, he sprayed the contents of his mouth. The girl laughed, and I felt myself blush. After Gary pulled himself together, he said, "Okay, goodbye now."

He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me off to somewhere outside the club. He looked around, still holding my arm. He spotted something, and pulled me in that direction. Only once we reached a bench did he let go of my arm, and he sat down. I took the seat opposite of him.

"Please tell me I don't have to experience that ever again," Gary said as he took a sip of his drink. He looked to the side, eyeing the people dancing and walking by.

"You don't have to experience that ever again, Gary," I said.

Gary rotated his head slowly towards me, and I just gave him a smile. We shared eye contact for a second, before he looked down to the table. I don't know what expression was on his face, but I would pay to see it.

I took my glass, and took my first taste of it. Erm… It was really bad. Maybe it would've have tasted batter, but there was this burning taste that really sent the chills down my spine. Shit.

"Gary, this stuff is shit," I said.

He looked up and glanced at my glass. "Well, you wanted it."

"But I've never actually drank this before."

Gary arched his one eyebrow and then burst out in laughter. "Are you serious? I thought you said you partied from time to time."

I felt a blush growing. "Well, you see, I don't really know anything about drinking at all. Just drink what people get me."

"And you've never remembered what you like?" Gary continued laughing.

"Not really. I've never really paid that much attention after the first drink or so," I mumbled, but Gary heard me.

"Oh, Ashy-boy," Gary said between the laughter, "Then I'll teach you tonight. After all, after a day like this, it seems logical to get drunk."

* * *

"And then, then he said that he never knew that his, his, Gastly wasn't a m-m-m-male," Gary said, giggling like mad.

I tried to support him as he half-hung around my shoulders, but I was laughing too hard at his joke, which I can't actually remember. I lost my balance and we ended up sitting on the side-walk, laughing our asses off.

Being drunk was a totally new experience: the lights seemed brighter, certain sounds seemed louder, things made more sense in a weird way, and I just didn't care about the world.

Gary had me thoroughly intoxicated, but the good news was that he was on the same level. We had been to every bar and he forced random shots of stuff down my throat, as if I needed some punishment.

"I think we need to get up," I said as some people walked by us, eyeing us wearily.

Gary snickered some more before he said, "Sure, sure. Help me up."

I looked at him and blinked. I also was still on the ground, but Gary didn't seem to notice. I struggled to get up as Gary started singing some song that seemed vaguely familiar, but my brain told me it was pointless to try and remember now. Maybe later.

Once I finally found myself standing, I reached my hand out to Gary. At first he didn't seem to notice, and sang the chorus with so much vigor, I could easily mistake him for being at a pop concert. I swung my hand before his face and he finally noticed. He grabbed my hand, and I pulled. Obviously, Gary didn't do his part of it, and I found myself almost falling over. Gary suddenly decided to jump forward, and he landed squarely against my chest.

I looked down, and my face was buried in his hair. Even while drunk, the scent of Gary was invigorating, and I felt myself shuddering slightly. Gary's hands were on my chest, and he pushed himself away.

"Sorry, about that, Ashyyyyy-boy," Gary giggled and stumbled in the direction of our hotel.

I rushed to walk at his side: he was swinging wildly about. Okay, he was way more sloshed than I was. Through it all Gary couldn't stop giggling and he occasionally let out a shout or something.

_Mercy_. That's the song Gary was singing. Yeah, I'm sure of it. _Mercy_, by Duffy.

We reached the hotel after a while, and we actually made our way into our room. Gary said he needed to use the bathroom, and I went to sit on my bed. My head spun like crazy as I waited for Gary to finish up: I needed to go to the bathroom myself.

I heard a crash, and some hysterical laughter coming from the bathroom. I got up and pushed the door open, slowly. Gary was sitting on the floor, looking delirious.

"Please," he said through his laughing fit, "Help."

I shuffled over and helped him up. "You know, after all the times I've helped you up tonight, you owe me big time."

"What_ever_, Ash," Gary said with a huge sigh.

I led him to his bed and helped him inside. It was quite a struggle, because at the time my brain couldn't really work that well with Gary practically draped around me. But I got him in.

As I walked over to my bed, I could hear Gary sing, "_I don't know what you do, but you do it well, I'm under your spell_."

* * *

**A/N: **I lurv this chapter! Maybe because I love to party so much. Haha. I actually went on a date last night. What a DISASTER! Oh my word, the guy was practically a mute. Should teach me not to meet people off the internet. Haha. Anyhows, we went to a squarey type place like the one I described in the chapter, and I thought it would be good to out my frustrations. But just so you know, Ash and Gary had a waaaaay better night than I did.

I'm beginning to see a pattern in the chapters, by that being that the first part is all serious and stuff, and the more it goes on, the lighter it gets. Not gonna happen in chapter 4. Nope. Not at all. DA-RAMA coming up!


	4. I Got Chills, They're Multiplying

**Chapter 4**

Hey you all! Sorry if you waited ages for this update, but we had a shitload of projects at varsity, and it was generally just a very busy two, three weeks. But I sat down earlier, and this basically just flowed outta me. Not exactly the cheeriest of chapters, but at least it's progression with the story, eh? hehe. Enjoy.

* * *

What exactly is it he feels? Cause I would kill to know. Now, I've never been an expert when it comes to figuring somebody out, especially not someone as cryptic as Gary. But I do get a strange feeling that maybe, just maybe, I could close my eyes and take a leap, and Gary would be fine with it. Maybe it's just false hope and wishful thinking, but my gut would like to believe otherwise.

I have to consider the risks such a leap would present. If my actions backfire, I could just as well consider my friendship with Gary history. Rejection would be complete. And am I willing to sacrifice our friendship? Sure, it could be so much better than it is now, without even getting romantic, but I do consider him a good friend already again.

"Oh my god," Gary said and let out a stifled groan.

I peered at him from where I lay on my bed. Gary was sitting upright with his head clutched in his hands, like he had been for the past ten minutes. I gave a slight chuckle, but Gary didn't react. Instead, he just rubbed his head a bit.

"Hangover much?" I dared to ask.

"What? You don't have one?" Gary asked as he slightly looked up at me.

I smiled and shook my head proudly. Disbelieve was etched all over his beautiful face, and he moaned in disgust. He slowly got up and walked over to the window. He opened the curtain slightly, but as soon as the sunlight hit his face, he winced away and promptly shut the curtains again.

He went into the bathroom, and I heard the tap starting to run. The thought that I'm kind of spying on Gary occurred to me, but then, what else could I do in an empty hotel room? The sound of the cupboard opening came, followed by what sounded like Gary searching for something, and was rounded off by yet another groan.

Gary came shuffling out of the bathroom and looked at me. "Well, since here is no aspirin, and I didn't bring any, you're buying me breakfast."

My eyes widened, "Me? Why?"

"Because," he shot me a look of fury, "for some stupid reason, you dropped your hangover on _me_. It's the least you could do, Ashy-boy."

He looked at me with squinty eyes, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing. Gary gave me the finger and slumped face down onto his bed. When I stopped laughing I reached for my wallet, miraculously not lost the night before, and got up.

When I reached Gary's bed, I tapped him lightly on the back, "Okay, then. I'll go down so long. You shower and clean up, and by the time you're done, breakfast will be ready."

Gary gave a slight nod into the bedding, "Hmm."

I took it as a yes, chuckled and left the room. I had awoken about an hour before Gary, and out of pure boredom, I took a shower and stuff. Wearing the same clothes as the day before was quite disgusting, considering we went to drink with them. The smell of alcohol hung heavy on them, and it made me slightly sick. But aside from that, I was feeling perfect and, frankly, quite happy.

The hotel was rather luxurious, though nothing top-class. The dining room was about half-full, and I found a nice table for two. A waiter came over as soon as I sat down and he handed me a menu. As I glanced at the various choices, I realized I hadn't asked Gary what he would like to eat. I beckoned the waiter over again.

"Er, what do people eat when they have a morning after?" I asked the guy.

He laughed, then pointed to a picture of breakfast with bacon, eggs, pork bangers, mushrooms and toast, "Definitely something greasy and filling."

"Great, I'll take two. And two coffees please," I asked.

"Sure," he said and left, not even asking why I'm ordering double.

Some stupid classical music was playing and it bored me to death. I waited and Gary finally came into the dining room, his brow furrowed to the point where it was quite comedic. He stood for a few seconds and searched the room. When he saw where I sat, he came shuffling over.

"You look like shit, Gary," I commented as he sat down.

"Fuck you," he said dryly. "Next time, it's your turn."

I laughed at him and his misery, and he shot me dirty look. Just then, the waiter arrived with our coffee and food, and Gary's face lit up in gratitude. Actually, he looked rather pathetic, but in that cute way. He ate slowly, as if savoring the food, but then again, he looked so tired and wasted, he might just not have the energy to just dig in. I stole some glances at him while he ate, and he luckily didn't seem to notice me.

Instead, he seemed to focus on his plate, and only occasionally looked up, but it was like he was avoiding my face. Or maybe I'm just paranoid. He was drunk last night, so it couldn't have been like he meant it, and even if his song choice wasn't random at all, who was I to say it was directed at me? It could just as well be me and my wishful thinking. Again.

"So, you don't feel sick at all?" Gary finally asked.

"Nope, nothing at all," I said with a huge smile.

Still looking down, he said, "That's so unfair. Hangovers are usually there to remind you how great a time you had."

I blinked for a second. Did I just hear correctly? One way to find out, "You had a great time?"

He looked up and chuckled, "I never thought I would get that drunk with _you_, but yeah, it was pretty good."

My smile turned to a full on beam. I wondered just how much he could remember from the night before. Maybe this was my chance to push forward and find out how he feels. My gut twisted a bit in anticipation, and I found myself reaching for the coffee to comfort my suddenly dry mouth.

"How much do you remember?" I asked him cautiously.

Gary looked up again, thinking a bit before he said, "Er, not that much. I know I enjoyed it. I remember that stupid girl, I remember there were somehow no obnoxious fans of Ash Ketchum, I don't remember how we got home, and I don't remember getting in bed."

Should I tell him? That I basically held him all the way to our hotel room, I listened how he sung a love a song, and finally, rescued him from the bathroom and put him in bed? I suppose I could tell him, but that might hurt Gary's self-sufficient ego. What I will most definitely not tell him is that I wanted to carry him home, I enjoyed him singing, and I would have preferred snuggling up to him instead of going to my own bed. Why couldn't a cliché have saved us, and let the hotel only have had single bed rooms available?

"Don't worry, what matters are that you did get here and did get in bed, and not in some random people's house or some ditch," I said, feeling rather chuffed with myself for making sure he was alright last night.

"Ash?" Gary asked, his voice having a disbelieving tone.

I answered hesitantly, not knowing what I said wrong, "Yeah?"

He looked at me for a second longer, then shook his head, "Oh, it's nothing."

He shifted awkwardly in his seat, and the remainder of breakfast was spent in silence. My mind wasn't, though, and I kept going over our conversation to try and figure out what I said. But Gary didn't sound angry or anything, so I dunno, maybe it's just his too cryptic stuff for the likes of me.

We decided to head out to the police station as soon as possible, and see if they had made any advances in finding Gary's car. The trip to the station was just as silent as breakfast, but it felt kind of awkward. This surprised me. Gary and I had been friends for years, why would we share an awkward silence? Unless, like always, it's just me, and I misinterpreted Gary and I'm just an idiot. Yeah, that must be it.

We entered the station, and Officer Jenny came over the second we stepped inside, a huge smile playing on her face. She had a set of keys in her hand, and gave them to Gary, who was looking very surprised.

"The guy basically handed himself to us. Camera's caught him speeding, and we got to him quickly," she said proudly.

"Thank you so much!" Gary laughed. "I don't know what I would've done if you didn't find it today."

"It's our pleasure to serve," she said. "But you might want to lock your doors the next time."

"Excuse me?" Gary asked in confusion.

"Yes, we couldn't find any damage on the car, and asked the man how he got in. He told us the passenger side door was unlocked," Officer Jenny explained, and I closed my eyes.

How could I have been so stupid? Maybe it's because I've never gotten used to cars after years of just using my legs, but it's pretty basic to lock a car door. Damn. I didn't dare open my eyes, knowing that Gary would be looking at me. And he would be furious.

I felt two arms grab me by my shoulders, and started shaking me. "This is your fault?" Gary almost yelled. "You didn't even know you left it open, did you? You're such a child, Ash!"

I just stood there as Gary spat out the words. Something about me having to learn responsibility, consider other's people things, get over the simplicity of life. Actually, it was pretty deep, the way he went on. One could have sworn I gave his car away. Okay, maybe I kinda did, but still, his words hurt.

And I couldn't say anything back. I had opened my eyes, and just stared at Gary as he let his anger out. I guess I had a sorry expression on my face.

"It's a simple mistake, anyone could have made it," Officer Jenny said, and I was surprised to see her still standing there.

"Maybe, maybe not. This is Ash Ketchum. You can _always _expect something like this from him," Gary said, his voice unnaturally cold.

I snapped, "It's not like I meant to leave the door open and have your car stolen! I mean, if I didn't feel anything I could have left you on that sidewalk last night or not have put you in bed when you were too drunk to even walk!"

Gary had frozen, and he stared at me in shock. Yeah, even I didn't expect that from me. What I did next was even more drastic.

I turned around and left. I didn't know why, I just felt hurt by what Gary said. No anger, just hurt. I should have known why, but at that moment, I just wanted to get away. I somehow recall a hand grabbing my arm, but I pulled away and just rushed out of the police station.

"Ash! Wait!" Gary called after me.

"Leave me alone." I said, knowing that I sound like a ten year old again, but not caring.

"What? We have to get home," he said, his voice sounding truly apologetic.

"Just go. I can get home myself," I said. My voice sounded deadly and sharp. I stopped and turned around, I gave him a look that could kill, and he looked away. Just in the knick of time, because my resolve in hurting Gary faltered, and my face softened. I turned around before he could look back and started walking away before he could say or do anything.

Just like always, I was walking away. Walking alone. Walking in the cold. It was familiar, not even Misty, Brock or Pikachu could cheer me up if they were here.

Funny to think I brought this to myself. Over not locking a car's door. I really am a stupid loser. Masochistic, pathetic and stupid.

I walked for a while, not really taking my surroundings in, but when I did look up, I was back at the Pokemon Center. Somehow, it was just the place I needed, and went inside. I found a place to sit, and watched all the trainers with their various Pokemon. On other days, the nostalgia would make me sick, but now I just longed to my younger days. Missing the age where emotions were limited, and gotten over quickly.

My eyes shifted over every tiny corner of the place, but not really processing what I was seeing. My eyes came to rest on the computer terminal, and a thought popped into my head. I got up and started to make my way over to it.

"I can't believe it! It's Ash Ketchum!" a girl squealed from somewhere. Hers was followed by a whole volley of shrieks and yells.

Great, just what I needed – fangirls.

In seconds, there was a group of jumping, screaming and very excited teenage girls surrounding me. Normal guys would have been elated to be able to get this attention. But I wasn't normal. No, I just wanted one thing, and I think I just threw it away.

"Please! Will you give us your autograph? We're such big fans of you!" one of them asked. No, begged.

"And, you can have our phone numbers," another one added.

Fucking fangirls. Ugh.

"No thanks. Just give me something to sign with," I said, my voice void of emotion.

"Of course! How could we be so stupid?" the telephone number girl said. Well, you see, that's quite an easy thing to do. I mean, look at me and how stupid I am!

I was handed paper and a pen, and after routinely asking every girl her name, and writing my rehearsed personal messages for each of them, they finally left.

I could still hear them as I continued to walk to the computer, and I was afraid this might just turn to a full blown autographing session if the other people in the Center wanted one too. Luckily, everyone just seemed excited to see me, and I was left alone while I stood at the computer.

I called my mom, and her face appeared on the screen, happy as usual.

"Oh, hello, Ash!" she greeted me.

"Hey, mom," I said.

Her face turned concerning, "What's wrong, dear? Were they unable to find Gary's car?"

Damn, trust a mother to see through you like thin air.

"No, no. They found his car," I said.

"Then what's wrong? You look awfully pale," she said.

"Gary and I," I began sheepishly. "Mom, we had a fight."

"Oh no, dear. Should I come get you?"

Typical. She's so good. Why couldn't I be as observant as my mom? Then I would have been alert enough to lock the door, and more importantly, I wouldn't have this much trouble at figuring out Gary. I got so much genes from my father, and I've always been grateful for that, but now it was just a pain.

"No, you don't need to go through that much trouble. Can you just call a cab? I spent the money I had with me last night and this morning, and I forgot my cards," I told my mom.

"Okay, will do. Just stay at the Pokemon Center. I'll call right away," she said, her face soft.

"Thanks, mom."

I could feel the redness on my face. Eighteen, Pokemon Master, but still in his need of his mother. I chuckled to myself. Mom would be the last person on earth complaining about that.

I went over to where I sat before and resumed in my empty watching. Nurse Joy approached me, and I quickly sat upright. "You're Ash Ketchum, right?"

Great. Another one.

"Yeah."

"Great, can you please tell your friend Gary that we have his vaccines ready? I think he expected us to start working on them today, but we started yesterday, and now we're done," she told me.

I sat there, and contemplated it for a minute. On one side, it would sound really rude if I told her to tell him herself, but on the other, it meant that I would have to speak with Gary. And that wasn't really on my agenda in the immediate future. So what I said came as a complete surprise, "Give them to me, I'll take them to him."

Nurse Joy nodded and walked off to storeroom. I didn't follow her, and just stood waiting in the lobby. She returned with the box, and handed them to me. She said thanks and was off again. I eyed the box, and ignored the voice yelling at me from inside my head. I was retarded, not crazy. Not yet, anyway.

I saw the cab pull up and made my way outside and got in. I sat in the back, and placed the vaccines on the seat beside me. On our way out of Viridian, we passed both the police station and the hotel where we stayed. I did my best to try and imagine that they were just as insignificant like the other buildings, and I told myself they didn't remind of anyone.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, luckily, and I got home in no time. When I got out, my mom was already waiting outside, as if I had been gone for ages. Turned out she just wanted to pay the driver. Hah. As I watched her count the money, I became more and more depressed. I just couldn't shake the feeling that I'm the most stupid guy ever, and I just accepted to take the vaccines to Gary.

Like that would make things worse, I worked _with _him at Professor Oak's, so I would have seen him anyway. But that was left for tomorrow. There's no way in hell that I'm going over right now. No, like I said, I'm a masochist, and this cold is okay. For now.

* * *

**A/N: **Poor Ash... He's so clueless. Anyhow, I did promise a dramatic chapter, and completing this, I was thinking maybe it's too dramatic too early on. Then I reread it, and decided, nah. Since I'm very much like Gary, I know I would have reacted the same. :D Next week I'm off, so maybe you can expect an early update! Just maybe, though.

Oh, and, there was a part in there, Lanie. Just for you! ;) It has to do with what you said in the review. :P

Heh. Peace out everyone. Luv ya .v..


	5. Of Womanizers, Scheming and Elites

**Chapter 5**

**

* * *

**This chapter has quite a few surprises, and in relation to the main plot, this is the most progression so far. :D

Enjoy, and thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

This is kind of pathetic. I'm doing _it _again, and I know that this time I probably shouldn't. I should just open my mouth and say what I want to. I don't understand myself – when it's uncalled for, my mouth opens. But when I really need to say what I feel, I can't. I shy away and just shut down. I'm such a coward. Like always I choose the obvious decision, and I'm not sure how this will work out for me. But what else can I do? It's not like I actually know what is the right thing.

And now I'm doing it again – I'm running away.

"Pikapi?" my Pokemon asked me, tugging at my ear.

"I'm okay, Pikachu," I told him, but he just eyed me wearily from his position on my shoulder.

This should really confuse him. I mean, I just grabbed my bag and left. Pikachu wasn't in the room when I told mom where I was going, and he must think I'm off on an adventure again. But he must know otherwise, because I look like shit. He always knew when something was up, and he would bug me until I would tell him. Whether or not he understood me or not, is another question, but he always seemed pleased after I told him.

"I'm going to see Brock," I finally told Pikachu.

His ears twitched at the mention of Brock's name, and excitement crept onto his little face. He made some sound of approval, then jumped off me, running along the path. He stopped somewhere in front of me, and urged me to walk faster. When I didn't, he ran back to me and pulled on my jeans.

"Pika!" he moaned when his efforts didn't work.

"Relax, Pikachu," I said, "We're taking a cab, so we'll be there soon. I only have today and tomorrow. Have to go back to work on Monday."

He looked at me with interest. Shit, he caught my reluctance when mentioning work. I extended my hand and Pikachu climbed on, stepping up my arm to settle on my shoulder. He motioned forward, and I started walking. While Pikachu was bouncing with excitement, I walked on somberly, a shadow cast over my eyes by my cap that was pulled down lower than usual.

I don't know why I just didn't let the cab pick me up at home, but I guess I needed to walk for a little bit. We reached the place, and I walked inside. It was a tiny little place – Pallet was not in need of that many taxis, but it would do. I booked me a cab, and before I knew it, I was off. The trip to Brock was quiet, and even though it was still early morning, I lulled back to sleep. Must have freaked out the taxi driver a bit (I had been told I snore), but I didn't care. At least my mind was distracted that way, and I didn't seem to dream a thing. Maybe this was a good idea after all.

Not that I would know what to tell Brock. I've never been good at hiding how I feel, and Brock would definitely notice. So what if I told him I felt guilty. That would lead to him asking why, and could I really tell him why walking away from Gary, even though he yelled at me, hurt me real bad? Could I live with Brock knowing the truth? I doesn't matter with_ Brock _in particular knowing – it could be anyone. I sure as hell didn't know why I felt afraid of admitting it out loud. I like Gary. A lot. Maybe I'm one of those people who believe in jinxing a thing, and saying it out loud will make it go away. Not that liking Gary haven't brought my fair share of problems, but I actually like liking Gary.

I'm weird, I know.

Brock seemed very happy to see me, and frankly, I was happy to see him too. There is some vibe about my old friend, as if he brought some calm to you; a stillness, a peace. So I found myself smiling while he prepared some tea for us, letting that good-times-feeling settle over me.

"I really didn't expect you to come _so _soon," Brock chuckled as he gave me my tea.

"Seriously, Brock, you make me sound like a bad friend," I joked.

He gave a laugh, "Never a bad friend, just one that is the type to forget these types of things."

Pikachu had taken up the available position on Brock's lap, and the little fella seemed especially glad to see him. Maybe the Pokemon was just after Brock's food, as we all knew Brock was the best at preparing their treats. Whatever it was, I was happy that Pikachu was happy. With all this emotional crap, I kind of forgot about him a little, and I feel guilty about that, too.

"Is everything still good this side?" I asked, partly because I didn't want the focus on me, and partly because I was actually interested.

"Rather well, I'd say. I did tell you I opened a Pokemon shelter for lost or abandoned Pokemon, right?" he looked at me, and I nodded. "Well, it's going great. We're helping so much Pokemon finding new trainers, or being reunited with their old ones. Also, this super cute girl started working there, and I think she totally has the hots for me. I'm her boss after all, maybe she finds that sexy."

I snorted, "You always think women find you sexy. And where has that gotten you? Still thinking that, instead of knowing it."

Brock's brow furrowed a bit, before his lips slowly curled into a sly smile. "Ash, did you just say I'm sexy?"

I sprayed the tea that was in my mouth, going into a slight coughing fit while Brock just watched me with amusement. How the hell could I have said that? Fuck! I seriously need to start thinking about the stuff I want to say. I could feel the heat at my cheeks. I'm so busted.

"What?" I began, trying to sound clueless. "I didn't mean that!"

"Oh, really? Then why are you blushing like mad?" Brock laughed.

"I'm not blushing!" I defended, rather uselessly.

"Oh Ash, come on now. I've always known you're gay, don't try to hide it now," Brock said, his voice light and friendly.

Oh my god.

My mouth fell open a bit as I looked at him. How in the world could he have known? Was it something I said in the past that gave me away? I know I didn't give them the opportunity to _see _me be gay. Well, there goes my whole dilemma of not being sure whether to live with people knowing. At least Brock doesn't know the whole truth. Not yet, anyway.

"Ho-How did you know?" I finally managed to say, closer to a whisper actually.

Brock looked at me, his face wearing the same expression. I could tell he wasn't freaked out. Actually, it seemed like he was quite happy. "I've always known, Ash. You're like my little brother – I think I know you better than you do yourself."

I looked at him in silence. I had no idea what to say, and even less of one as what to do. Brock finished his tea, and motioned for mine. I gulped down the last of it, and handed him the cup. He washed them quick, and put them aside to dry.

"Come, let's walk a bit," he said as he walked to the door.

I got up, and followed him. We walked for a bit, still silent. Brock was looking at the trees and sky, and it seemed like he was waiting for me to start talking. Trust Brock to do that – offer his help, but still make it feel like you aren't the weak one. That doesn't even make any sense.

"I'm here because of that, actually," I finally said, the words escaping my mouth again without me thinking. Fuck.

"I'm assuming it isn't because someone found out and hates you now, right?" Brock asked, concerned.

I shook my head, "Not at all. It's… worse I think."

"Tell me," he said simply.

That really isn't as easy as it sounds. I mean, how would it sound if I told him that the person, _guy_, that I like is Gary Oak? My childhood rival. I know that hardly classifies me falling in love (can I call it that?) with the bully – seeing as we've made peace and are still friends. Firstly, being rivals are far from being bullied, and secondly, are we still friends?

I hoped to God we were.

"I hurt the one I like," I said.

Brock was silent, then, "Does he know you like him?"

Ah, always the one to read between the lines and think of everything. Or maybe he just really knows me that well.

"No."

"Hmm," he started, his voice contemplative, "that makes it tricky."

He stopped walking and faced me. He looked at me with calculating eyes, and scratched his chin a bit. I felt a little bit awkward, feeling as if he was inspecting me.

"How'd you hurt him?"

"He was angry at me, and then I said some stuff that I guess didn't make him angry anymore, but then I just left. He tried to stop me, but I… I just walked away."

Brock kept on looking at me, "Why was he angry at you?"

"I left his car door unlocked, and it got stolen – but we got it back. He freaked a bit, saying it's my fault and that it's so typical of me."

"That sucks ass," Brock trailed, and he added as an afterthought, "Sounds like the way Gary would react."

I blinked at Brock, and stared at him blankly. He gave me a funny look, before his face settled into a knowing smile. Oh fuck. Now he knows everything and I can just blame my lack of reaction for that. I really need to attend some classes on social interaction. I really suck at this. Not that I'm a recluse, I just aint good with things like this.

"Oh my god, Ash," Brock began. I expected him to tell me I was stupid, but then, he wouldn't be smiling like that. "I find that… strangely cute, but it makes so much sense now."

"Yeah, well," I started, entirely clueless on how to respond, "I've always liked him. Just never knew how much until recently."

"And that's why you walked away. It hurt you to see him mad and you be the cause," Brock went on, thinking.

How weird – what could he be thinking about?

"More or less," I said. "I just hope we can still fix our friendship. I'd rather only have that than nothing at all."

Brock looked at me, "Of course." His mouth curved into a smile again, and he nodded back into the direction of the house. "Come, let's go back, then you can tell me everything. I happen to be an expert on girls, this shouldn't be too different, no offence."

I just laughed at that, and I already felt much better about the whole situation.

* * *

**Gary's POV**

**

* * *

**Oh my god.

Fucking dream. It's enough that I have to deal with Ash from a day to day basis, but I don't think I can take it anymore if he's on my mind for 24/7. And he confuses me so much. At times I feel I could just tell him how I feel, but then at other times he seems so oblivious to what I say, that I think he just sees me as a friend. Since when did reading Ash become so difficult? I sighed and got out of bed. I shuffled over to my shower and started to clean myself – dispelling the thoughts of the simple life of a week ago, when Ash wasn't here and didn't confuse me as much. I had everything figured out, then he showed up and all that flew out the window. He has complete control over me, and he doesn't even know it. Bastard.

Beautiful, perfect fucking bastard.

I finished up and put on some clothes before heading down to where Grandpa was working. It was still early, so the laboratory was still quiet. I went to the kitchen to get me something to eat – a sandwich – and went to see what Gramps was up to. He was at his desk going over some papers about modern diseases – presumably in a bid to solve the Dratini problem. Once he saw me, he put the papers aside and peered at me from behind his glasses. He looked tired, and the bags under his eyes only confirmed that. I walked over and gave him half of my sandwich, and he accepted with no contest.

"Have you been up all night?" I asked him.

"No, but I did wake up very early – just couldn't sleep anymore," he replied.

"Good. You can't be staying up all night anymore. Leave that stuff to me," I said with a smile on my lips. I was definitely an Oak.

"Trust you to lecture me," he scoffed. His eyes glanced over the desk, and when his eyes landed on a small note, he snapped his head up. "Can you please go by the Ketchum residence? Ash brought the vaccines with him from Viridian City, but since he's not working today…"

"Can't you send an aide?" I snapped, perhaps a little too violently.

His eyes widened a little, "I just thought you wouldn't have a problem with it. You two are still friends, right."

I sighed, "I dunno."

His brow furrowed, "Shouldn't he have come back with you yesterday?"

"Yes," I said all somberly.

Yesterday, yesterday. I really didn't want to think about it. It was just plain disastrous, and trust me to blow a fuse like that. I get myself worked up over all the little things, and I end up losing what I really want. I hoped that wasn't the case this time. Ash really seemed hurt.

"Did you two have a fight?" my grandfather asked, rather rhetorically. "It's okay, I'll send someone el—"

"—No," I interjected, then took a deep breath, "I'll go."

Gramps looked at me for a few more seconds, obviously studying my expression. I shifted my weight a little, and he gave a curt nod. I tried to give him some kind of smile, but my face only contorted awkwardly, and I left in a hurry.

The way to Ash's house was ingrained into my brain – never to be erased, and frankly, I wanted it that way. But this time while walking to his house, my stomach didn't flutter like usually; it only twisted into a tight knot. What would I say to him? How would he react? He'll probably think I'm so pathetic – it's rather uncharacteristic of me to go sniveling back. But this is Ash we're talking about here. My Ash.

I can't lose him.

I just don't know I how I would cope with losing him again. And to make it worse, the first time had been my fault with my stupid arrogance. Being mean to the one you like? Yeah, such a cliché, but I was aware of the attraction even way back when – I just didn't really understand it. But now I do, and the second I get Ash back, I freak out and lose him again. So when I found myself at Ash's front door, I suddenly feel very afraid. I took a deep breath, and calmed myself a little. I'll just say sorry, and hopefully that'll be enough for Ash. That's usually the case, I hope.

My knock was weak, and I wasn't sure that someone had heard me. Just as I lifted my hand up again, the door swung back to reveal a happy looking Delia. My heart skipped a beat, as I was expecting Ash. But I guess seeing Delia is better.

"Oh, good morning, Gary!" she greeted me in a cheery voice.

"Good morning, Mrs. Ketchum," I greeted back.

She gave me a smile, then moved to the side, "Please, come inside."

"Oh, thank you," I said while stepping past her. I stood awkwardly as she walked by me to the kitchen. She motioned for me to follow, and I watched her as she switched on the kettle.

"Ash left me those vaccines, I assume that's why you're here?" she asked.

"Yes," I answered, then my brow furrowed, "Wait. Ash's not here?"

"No."

Oh my god.

Oh no.

This is the worst thing that could happen. I glanced around to see anything that belonged Ash – he couldn't have left again. It's something he would do, go off on a whim like that, but he can't do it now. He just _can't_. I had to hold back the strange sound that wanted to escape my mouth – something between a gasp and a sob.

"He's visiting his friend Brock in Pewter City. He'll be back tomorrow," she went on.

I looked at her, and I could practically feel my body relax, and I gave a relieved sigh. He wasn't gone. Not yet.

"He didn't tell me he'd be going," I said.

"Yes, he decided last night. Said he wanted some breathing space. Which is so weird considering he just got back."

I shifted around awkwardly as she watched me. I had the feeling she knew about our fight, and maybe she wanted me to say something, but I really didn't know what to tell her.

"Ash told you about our fight?" I managed to ask. It wasn't really leading anywhere, but that's just it. Beating around the bush was always a great tactic with stuff like this.

"He did. But that's it. He didn't tell me what it was about."

I bit my lower lip as I looked at her. Do I tell her?

"He told you my car got stolen, right? Well, it just so happens Ash left the door unlocked. I don't know why, but I got really angry at him, and yelled at him. But we had been drinking the night before, and me being me, I drank way too much. So Ash took care of me, which is really sweet, but I didn't even realize he did that, until he told me, but I already yelled at him by then, and then he just walked away, looking so hurt, and that just broke my heart," I found myself babbling before I could stop it.

I gasped when I realized what I had just said, and Delia just smiled at me. She slowly took a sip of her coffee, before putting it down and walking over to me. She took my hands in hers and looked me straight in the eye, before asking, "Gary, are you in love with my son?"

My eyes widened at the question, but I didn't pull my hands away. I didn't even break the gaze, instead I just let my face go back to normal, before taking a breath and admitting, "Yes."

Her smile turned into a full on beam as she looked at me. I felt self-conscious under her eyes, and I looked down. She brought a hand up to my cheek, and forced me to look at her again. She gave me hopeful look, before dragging me to the living room, "Come."

"Where are we going?" I asked in confusion.

"This is Ash Ketchum we're talking about here. We're gonna need a plan if we want to make this work," she giggled.

Oh my god.

* * *

I left the Ketchum residence a few hours later, feeling rather confused and excited. I had learned quite a few things about Delia – she had no problem with me liking Ash, and she thought that he was reacting the way he was because he likes me; she was addicted to coffee, making us a cup each every twenty minutes; and she was an excellent schemer. Oh my word, that was the weirdest conversation ever – hearing Delia give me pointers on how to approach Ash, _her son_.

But I guess that meant that I wouldn't have to worry about what she would think if Ash and I… I don't think I care what anything would think if that would happen – I'd be too happy. But trust me to tackle a problem backwards.

That sounded so gay.

I was in such a daze while walking back to Gramps' laboratory that I didn't notice a body until it was too late. I connected with the person, and I found myself sitting on the ground and looking up at a guy wearing a cape. What the fuck? He extended his hand towards me, and helped me up. He looked oddly familiar, but I just couldn't place him.

"Sorry about that," he apologized.

"Don't worry, I was a bit distracted anyway," I said as a blush settled on my face. "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?"

"Maybe. I'm looking for Ash Ketchum. Tell me where he is, and I'll tell you who I am."

What the hell? Who on earth could this guy be? I looked at him, a little suspicious. He seemed as if he could be in his mid to early twenties, and was rather attractive. There was something about him though, that made me not like him. And it was surprisingly strong.

"He's outta town for a bit, but he lives there," I said wearily, as I pointed to the house I just came from.

He smiled at me, running a hand through his pink-red hair, "Thanks man. I'm Lance."

* * *

**A/N: **^_^ SURPRISE! You should all thank Darkspider for Lance's appearance. I was thinking of bringing back somebody, but just didn't know who, but she put an idea in my mind. And Darkspider... do you hate me? ~.^ AND! :O Ash and Gary didn't even speak one word to each other! But look at that progress. HAHA. Hope you all liked this.


	6. Distractions

**Chapter 6**

**

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**Eh... can I begin by saying I am incredibly sorry! I don't know if you can really remember this, but I finally managed to finish this update. If you followed my other fics, you'd have noticed I didn't update them either. I guess I fell into what could be considered the worst time of my life, writing wise. I dreamt up about 10 new ideas for brand new fictions, but I didn't really start on them. The project I've been working on for 4 year we left alone for six straight months, and most of my other writing was also not getting attentions. I finished about half of this chapter just after posting chapter 5, but yeah. I feel really bad, I don't want to be a bad updater. That being said, it was really weird finishing this. I had hoped that the writing came as naturally as it always did, and while it did at some parts, I struggled at others. As such, I'm not as confident in my return. Perhaps I'll be back to form in chapter 7, which is incoming on January 13. Yup. No more waiting. Walking in the Cold will update every ten days from now on, that's a promise.

Without realizing it, the first paragraph eerily foretold my future. Had I known back then (Chapter 5 was barely up when I started on Chapter 6) I would have tried to finish this entire chapter before my... er... I dunno? Uber-writer's block? Yeah, that's what it was.

Anyway, enough about my rambling, and on to what you're really here for! Ladies and the odd gentleman or two, I present, at long last: Chapter 6!

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Distractions can sometimes be bliss. They tend to keep your sanity levels stable when you just can't think about your problems anymore. And me being me, I'd much rather think about the stuff that doesn't bother me. Not that it's a good thing, but I'm not somebody to spend so much energy on my problems. And that is, I think, my biggest flaw. I should be working on a plan, should be reaching for my dreams, but instead I'm standing here in the bliss of battle.

"Pika-CHU!" my Pokemon yelled as it dodged the tail of the Gyarados.

With incredible speed, the dragon-snake dove down, avoiding the bolt of lightning my Pokemon fired in the nick of time.

"Hydro Pump!" the cape wearer commanded from the other side of the beach.

Gyarados rose from the waters, spewing water from its mouth.

"Dodge it with a Quick Attack!" I ordered Pikachu, without really having to think about it. It was just a natural thing to do.

Pikachu started to move faster than I could see, and Gyarados' attack missed. For a second, Pikachu was nowhere to be seen, but then suddenly butted against Gyarados' head. Normally, the attack would've been highly effective, but with Gyarados' size, the dragon merely flinched. Its master ordered to retaliate with a tackle, and since the mouse hadn't recovered yet from the attack, was knocked back onto the beach. Pikachu jumped up, nearly unscathed from the attack, and ready for more.

"That's it!" I encouraged him. "Agility!"

"Dragon Rage!" Lance yelled at the same time.

The sky darkened as Gyarados prepared for the attack, but it was caught off guard when Pikachu suddenly appeared on its head.

"Thunder Bolt, now!" I ordered, and a second or two later, flashes of yellow sparks illuminated the area.

The dragon made sounds of agony – something between a roar and a cry. I glanced in Lance's direction, only to find him looking at me too. There was something in his eyes – it's something I was highly familiar with, it was something he was also seeing in my eyes, and it was something that made him smile. But it was more than a smile; it was a grin to meet my challenge.

Gyarados tumbled to the water; limp. "Good job," Lance said as he held out his pokeball. The red beam connected with his Pokemon, and Gyarados was gone. Pikachu had made his way to the top of a rock a little to my left, and he was regarding Lance – eager to see what he would dish out next. Lance's hand drifted across the row of pokeballs attached to his belt, and hesitated over the second last one. His challenge never faltered as he grabbed the pokeball, touching the front to enlarge it, and threw it towards the ground between us.

It burst open, ejecting bursts of silver light. The light tangled for a moment, before taking on the form of a large and familiar Pokemon. This was going to be interesting. The light stabilized, and faded to the colors of the Pokemon. Its wings seemed too tiny for its body, its face too cute for its size, and its tail too large to miss. Pikachu jumped from his rock to come to face his opponent. They were old opponents, and Pikachu was defending his victory.

"Thunder!" I yelled, and Pikachu was off.

"Flamethrower, Dragonite," Lance ordered his Pokemon.

The dragon took flight with unnatural speed, easily dodging Pikachu's attempt to latch onto the Pokemon. Pikachu was disorientated as he kept on soaring through the air – never hitting his target – and Dragonite blew streaks of flames towards Pikachu's back.

"Behind you!" I urged.

Pikachu's head snapped around, and in the nick of time, he touched the ground and jumped to the side. Dragonite lunged forward, dashing straight to my Pokemon. Pikachu prepared to jump to the left, but Dragonite brought his tail around, and slammed it against the tiny Pokemon mid-jump. Pikachu was flung to the side, and I was afraid he might not get up. But as always, the little guy surprised me, and managed to get up again. He was heaving, and looked at his opponent with hate.

"Time to finish him," Lance said. "Hyperbeam."

Dragonite opened his mouth, and a small ball of glowing hot energy started to form.

"Time it carefully, Pikachu. Get past it, and use Thunder Bolt."

Pikachu gave a swift nod, and got ready to run. The ball got very large, and Dragonite aimed at Pikachu. I yelled, "Now!"

Pikachu jumped forward, but no attack came. Just before Pikachu landed, Dragonite blasted him with the beam. Pikachu soared through the air, landing hard on the ground – knocked out. I bit my lip as I glanced at Lance. I looked back to Pikachu and rushed over to where he lay. I took him into my arms and faced Lance again. His grin was ever present, and I could see he was enjoying this immensely.

I reached for my second last Pokemon. I still had the advantage – Lance was on his last Pokemon already. With the ball in my hand, I turned my cap backwards and I threw the ball with all my strength – somehow hoping the gesture would seem intimidating. "Infernape! I choose you!"

Much like with Dragonite, the silver energy erupted from the ball to reveal my battle-hungry Infernape. A grin crept onto my face. Who knew I would be battling an elite, defending my title as Pokemon Master, in Pallet Town? It was almost enough to make me want to back my bags and wander off again. Almost.

* * *

"So this is the infamous Professor Oak's lab," Lance said as we approached the familiar building. Lance looked genuinely interested, but not really excited. I guess being an elite four member for who knows how long makes him used to ooh-ah Pokemon figures and celebrities.

"Yeah, and my work place," I said coyly.

Lance scoffed, "Seriously, I can't believe you traded your walking shoes for a lab coat."

"I don't wear a lab coat!" I protested. "And I'm just taking a break. There's nothing wrong with that!"

Lance burst out in laughter. "Ash, relax. I'm pulling your leg. I must say, it's a bit disappointing to see a new Master drop off the radar, but hey, that's your choice."

"I do have some valid reasons," I defended with a slight blush.

"I'm sure," Lance laughed.

We approached the door to the lab, but stopped when we heard some loud yelling coming from inside. Lance glanced at me, but I concentrated on the voice coming from inside. It was Gary. I opened the door, and we stepped inside.

Gary was yelling at a new assistant, "I told you to run these samples at room temperature! In your efforts to preserve them, you totally fucked them up!"

The poor guy who was the victim of Gary's wrath was a scrawny little guy with large glasses. I could see the social dysfunction just by how his shoulders was withdrawn and that solemn look on his face. Then again, it could just be Gary. I mean, I had a hard time dealing with him, I can just imagine how others suffer too.

"Gosh, Gary," Professor Oak said as he came into the room, an Eevee sitting on his head. "I never taught you that word."

"And obviously you didn't teach these useless assistants! I swear, some day I just want to kill somebody."

Through all of this, me and Lance's presence had gone unnoticed miraculously. I stepped forward, feeling guilty on eavesdropping or whatever we were doing.

"Er, hi everyone," I greeted awkwardly.

All eyes in the room shifted to me, and I felt uncomfortable. Professor Oak had his usual sparkle, not fazed by Gary's fit. The aides were all happy to see I arrived, probably hoping I'd save them from evil Gary. And Gary, well, he also seemed happy to see me – a total mood reversal. That's surprising. Maybe he thought I wouldn't show my face so soon.

"Ash," Professor Oak greeted, "and?"

Gary's eyes darted to Lance, who was standing beside me. As if only noticing him now, Gary's eyes widened, and something settled on his face.

"Lance," Gary said, irritation high in his voice.

"You've met?" I questioned, giving Lance a sideways glance. He didn't mention meeting anyone from around town.

"Ash, he's an Elite Four. I should know who he is," Gary retorted, quite shortly. What the hell?

Lance snorted, "And I suppose that mentality only started today? You nearly knocked my socks off without realizing who I am."

"Whatever. Honest mistake," Gary said.

"Whoa," I interrupted them. "Did I miss something? Should I go hide the kitchen knives?"

"No," the two answered in unison.

"We're fine. Just some friendly competition, it would seem," Lance added with a cheeky smile.

"Competition for what?" I asked with what was probably a very blank expression.

Lance smirked at Gary, and Gary huffed out a sigh. "Nothing. If that's all, I'll leave you in Gramp's hands. I gotta fix the mess the stupid assistant caused."

And just like that, he left.

"Excuse him, he's in a very bad mood today," Professor Oak sighed when Gary was out of the room.

I wonder if Gary thought that I should still be mad at him. I still feel hurt, but I'm not angry anymore. Not after talking to Brock. Aw man, and I'm an idiot! With Lance here, I won't be able to talk to Gary. Great, just great.

"It's okay, Professor. We all know Gary," I said with a slight smile, then turned to Lance. "Well, except you, but you can already guess how he gets."

He chuckled, "It's okay. I find it entertaining."

Professor Oak also laughed, "It is, actually. Now, what did you boys come here for? It's Saturday. You don't have to work today."

"Oh, I know. It's just, since there's no Pokemon centre in town, we thought we could let them rest here a bit," I replied.

"Hmm?" Professor Oak quirked his eyebrow. "Did you two battle?"

"Yeah, and he really is a Pokemon Master," Lance said, giving me a sideways smile.

Professor Oak gave a huge grin. "Well, that's good. With you missing work yesterday, I was afraid that you might just take off again."

"Sorry about that."

Man, I feel like crap for neglecting my work like that. I mean, there could've happened something to the Dratini, or they could've needed me somewhere else.

"I understand, Ash," the professor said while taking off the Eevee that was still sitting on his head. He held the little Pokemon in his hands. "This Eevee was hurt, maybe your Pokemon can spend the day recovering with him. Maybe play even a little. I mean, you two's Pokemon has reached that level where recovery is swift."

"It's settled then," I said, and Professor Oak led us outside.

* * *

"My God, they all look so sick!" Lance gasped as I showed him the bunch of Dratini in their tank.

"Yeah," I said as I extended my hand to one of the Dratini drifting at the side of the tank. "And just when we think they get better, total relapse."

Lance looked as if somebody close to him had just died. He must really have a huge soft spot for dragons, because, seriously, he looked on the verge of freaking out. He took one of the sickest looking Dratini from the tank into his arms, not even bothering to dry it, and held it close to him.

"I have some Dragonair in storage. Do you think they'll help?" Lance asked without looking up from the Pokemon in his arms. "You know, to comfort them. Like older brothers or something."

Professor Oak walked into the lab just then, with Gary at his side. They came to stand next to us, with Professor Oak speaking, "That could work. However, we're not sure how this disease works. It's viral, we're pretty sure of that, but it doesn't seem to infect people or other Pokemon, at least not by more common means of transmission."

"But if the disease is hard to transmit," I began, hopeful, "then it would be okay to bring the Dragonair into contact with the Dratini, right?"

"Perhaps, but this disease might only affect Dratini. In which case, it would most likely also affect Dragonair and Dragonite," Professor Oak went on.

"And since we have no cure, or even have an idea what's wrong with them, we just can't jeopardize other Pokemon," Gary said, rather calm.

Holy crap, talk about PMS. Gary had been really weird these past few days. First I find him crying, then he's so nice, then we get drunk, then we fight, and now, now I don't know how he is. Is he angry? Happy? Emotionless? Maybe that's a good thing – me not being able to read Gary at all. Maybe that mean he's back to normal? He's always had his mood swings, so…

"How did you find them?" Lance asked.

Damn, during my whole time here, I hadn't thought of asking that once. I just assumed that some lab gave up on treating them and asked Professor Oak to look after them.

"They were found by one of my aides on an expedition on Cinnabar Island. We got word there might be some rare fossils there, so I sent over some men. Instead, they found these Dratini in a pool inside a cave," Professor Oak explained to us, turning so he could look at the Pokemon in the tank.

If one didn't know better, one would say they were calm and serene. But I guess they were just too weak to really move around that much. What on earth was wrong with them?

"Have there been any other reports of sick Dratini?" Lance asked as he put back the Dratini he was holding. It swam a bit, but then also just resorted to drifting around.

"Luckily, no. A thorough search of the area was done – we called in the local authorities. I would've loved to go there myself, but with my age, and these Pokemon needing attention, I left the work up to my aides," Oak explained further.

"And they found nothing? Nothing that can explain what's wrong with them," I asked, causing Gary to look at me with those haunting eyes of his.

"No, nothing at all. Although, that already tells us something," Gary started. When Lance and I both gave him quizzical looks, he went on, "This is an isolated case, happening to what seems like a small colony of Dratini. So, if this disease is natural, it has to be very rare."

Lance's face wrinkled as he regressed into thought. "What makes this disease so hard to treat?"

Professor Oak sighed, "Well, we're pretty certain it's a virus, but we can't be entirely sure until we've identified it. This is a very sneaky virus. For some reason, I just can't track it down. If we could do that, I could take a look at the virus' composition and maybe find a way to kill it."

"The cures we've tried already were based on what the effects of the virus are, comparing them to other viruses, and building the medicine from there," Gary continued for the Professor. "But obviously that didn't work."

Lance let out a sigh in frustration. He looked at the Dratini with forlorn eyes. "How can we help? I'm no scientist, but I would like to help where I can while I'm here."

Professor Oak gave a gentle smile, and put his hand on Lance's shoulder, "Your offer is greatly appreciated, and we'll keep you posted. In the mean time, relax, we make this disease sound very bad, while all it might do is induce chronic fatigue and irritation. In the mean time, Ash can show you around the lab, if you want. We've got some interesting Pokemon here."

* * *

I had shown Lance around the lab and surrounding facilities for a while, before I went home. It was a bit weird, Lance was here in Pallet just to see me – apparently because he 'wanted to make sure the Pokemon Master is still alive'. I just know he was lying and wants some good old revenge. But that wasn't the problem – I was the only one he knew here, and it felt wrong to let him just stay at a hotel (the one in Pallet had like, three rooms). So I offered him to stay at our house.

Mom was surprised, but said he could stay nonetheless. But now came the other weird/bad/maybe-not-so-bad part – I had to practically babysit Lance. I couldn't just leave him and wander off; he was my guest. Maybe it's just me, but it felt insanely awkward.

We entertained the idea of battling some more, but figured we owed it to our Pokemon to get in a good rest after what was for sure an intense battle. Besides, we had left our Pokemon at the lab to rest up. That pretty much left us bored, and since Lance and I were kind of only acquaintances, we didn't have that much to talk about. See where the awkwardness comes from? Lance had voiced his worries over the Dratini, and that's where most of our conversation were at – we came up with theories of what could be wrong and how they could've gotten sick. But, naturally, me and Lance being trainers and not Pokemon scientists, we were never really sure if we could figure it out. I mean, I know the common Pokemon sicknesses and how to treat them, but that's existing illnesses treated with existing medication, I doubt I could figure out what was wrong with the Dratini if Professor Oak and Gary couldn't.

It was late afternoon when our doorbell rang. Lance and I had resorted to watching TV. They were broadcasting a tournament from Jhoto, and it was mildly interesting. I got up to get the door, and was surprised to find Gary. He claimed that he brought our Pokemon back, since he figured we'd forget. If I didn't know Gary, I'd find that insulting. Then again, I know me, and me forgetting is a very natural thing to happen.

"Do you wanna come inside?" I asked Gary. "We're so bored."

Gary shifted his weight as he thought about it, "Actually, I hoped we could talk. I feel I need to apologize."

"Oh," I said, feeling somewhat happy that Gary would show actually humility. It meant a lot to me. "I guess I can leave Lance alone for a while. Come in."

I told Lance there was something Gary and I needed to discuss, and he was cool about it. Apparently his favorite soap opera was about to show, and he never missed it for a thing. Hmm, Lance likes soap operas? How… unexpected. Haha.

Instead of going to my room, we went to the kitchen. I made us some tea, all the while Gary was just standing there, silent. I figured I would let him speak first, him wanting to apologize and all. I had practically forgiven him – it was my fault after all for leaving the door unlocked. After I handed Gary his tea, he remained silent, and it afforded me some time to think back on what Brock had told me. On the one hand, it was hard taking Brock seriously when he could never get a girl, but on the other hand, what he said made some sense.

_Be sensitive, understanding. Give breathing space, and go slowly. However, be pushy enough to show you're interested. Listen, and always respond. Always think through what you're about to say, but never seem like you're hesitating. Most of all, be confident and natural._

He didn't say it like that exactly, but that's what it boils down to. It didn't seem too difficult, and I reckon I can do it.

"I don't know how to say this without sounding incredibly stupid or whatever, but I'm very sorry I yelled at you like that," he began. I looked at him, but he was looking at the cup in his hand.

"Gary-"

"I'm not done yet," he interjected, then went on, "It's just these last few days has been really difficult for me. I've been so confused, and you really didn't help."

I really didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but I let him finish.

He thought for a few second, then said, "It's been a question of should I tell you or shouldn't I, but I think I finally know the answer." He was silent again, and looked at me with hopeful eyes. "Ash, I'm miserably in lo-"

Lance stormed into the kitchen, distraught, "Oh my god, you're living room is on fire!"

* * *

**A/N: **Urm, don't yell at me for that cliffy. I know your trust in me has been shaken, but I promise - ten days. I hope this satisfied you. I feel that I owe you more than the standard lenght chapter, but I was afraid that I might just fall back into that writer's block. But now I'm certain I'm outta it, and instead I make the frequent update promise. If my math is correct, we're about a third into the story now. I think this is going to be around 16-18 chapters. But no fear, I'm already working on a new Palletshipping idea that's gonna blow your socks off. Think Pokemon with a very Final Fantasy feel to it. Epic. That one will difinately have more characters and places from the canon. Walking in the Cold is way more personal and intimate. Till next time!

atom-bomb


	7. Always Unprepared

**Chapter 7**

**

* * *

**Woo! I was able to keep my promise. Okay, okay, not entirely. My clock says 00:34, which means I'm a bit late, but since the majority of my readers are in the US, you still get the update by the 13th! MAGIC! Haha, anyways, this almost wasn't done on time. I, er, got Sims 3 with all of the expansions and stuff, and it was just so fun being somebody I'm not. Actually, it's just me loving to play god and ruin unsuspecting victims' lives! Muhahaha. Then I got bored and switched to Diablo II. Yeah, kill those demons! Between all that, I wrote this, but by all means, don't think this is a Sims and Diablo inspired chapter. Meh. It's somewhat filler, somewhat plot. Like, Dratini plot. I'm hoping I'm getting you think about what's wrong with them, because I have it all planned out, and I'm pretty sure it's gonna serve for an awesome climax. But yeah, I'm just rambling on about stuff you probably don't want to know... so here's chapter 7!

* * *

Have you ever thought about how people exaggerate most of the time? Like, their wonderful tropical vacation where they had some steamy summer romance was actually just a trip to an overcrowded, generic beach with wanton whores looking for unsuspecting victims who idealize their lives. Okay, excuse me, but I'm a bit pissed, I guess. 'Your living room is on fire' and 'It might just be the curtain near the socket that spat a spark or two' are two completely different things. Firstly, I expected the room to be razed or something, and secondly, we were rudely interrupted. Of course I'm pissed as hell. Moronic Elite Four wannabe!

Ugh, now he completely put me off from telling Ash how I feel. I just don't know if I can find it in me to work up that amount of strength again. I almost spilled my heart, for God's sake! Whatever, I just need to get over my fear. Or, maybe, the interruption was a good thing. Maybe I was being too hasty – I hadn't really planned the whole thing, and that could've led to disaster.

Damn.

Seriously though, I might have ruined everything back there. After all, Delia only told me she _thinks _Ash likes me. I'm not the vain type that mistakes friendliness for love. Eh, I guess what I'm about to say should stay in my mind – thanks, Lance. Meh.

"Mom hated these curtains anyway," Ash said as he struggled to contain his laughter. "This might just be the motivation she needs to replace them; they're ancient."

Lance was acting all guilty about it – he explained that the TV displayed only white noise, and thought there might be a problem with the cabling. While looking if he could wiggle the cables into place, he stepped on the cord and a flame came out the wall socket. If you ask me, that had to be a very badly maintained socket to spout a flame like that. Then again, how was Delia supposed to make sure all of the wiring in the house was in proper condition; Ash's father apparently MIA.

"At least let me pay for the new ones, then," Lance offered. I swear, I've never seen an Elite Four so, what's the word, defeated. Haha, that's a memory.

"Relax, it's not as if it'll cost a fortune. Besides, I still have most of the money I won and I haven't gotten Mom anything yet," Ash mused, his mouth slightly inching towards a smile as he probably imagined his mother's reaction to new curtains.

How cute!

"Should we go now?" Lance asked, and when he saw the vacant expression on Ash and my face, he added, "Get the curtains, I mean."

Ash gave me a puzzled look, as if asking if I was okay with it. I think he actually wanted to know if we could talk some other time. Well, sure, I don't mind. They just better hurry if they want to find the store still open – it was nearly closing time this time of the afternoon.

As Ash hurried to his room to put on his shoes, he left me and Lance standing around the living room; quite awkward. I don't know what came over me this morning. I knew that he and Ash would meet up and, well, I didn't know what they would do then. But typical of them – they ended up battling, like things never have changed. I guess that's what made me bite his head off like that. But I dunno, he seems to know something, because he's sure as hell annoying me on purpose. Fucker.

Lance fidgeted with his shirt; his silhouette was quite different with him not wearing his cape. What kind of idiot wears a cape anyway? I was caught looking at him, and he gave me a lop-sided grin. I swear it grew wider when I looked away.

"You seem quite temperamental," he stated, more like mocked. I looked at him again, and sure enough, he was jeering at me.

"So what? I can be moody if I want to," I huffed, and started tapping my foot. Hurry up Ash!

He made a face, "That doesn't make sense. You enjoy having PMS?"

"Please, I'm not a girl. I just don't like you," I said. There, bastard. No use keeping it a secret.

"Oh," he said slowly; knowingly. "You're not moody. You're jealous."

"What's Gary jealous about?" Ash said cheerily as he walked into the room, his well worn sneakers on his feet.

"Nothing," I said quickly.

"Liar," Lance chuckled. "He's jealous of my awesome skills as a trainer. It takes a special kind of savvy to train dragons."

While the two of them laughed at something I didn't find funny, I made my way to the door. Ash and Lance followed me outside, and started walking in the direction of the town center – where all the shops were. After a few steps, they realized I wasn't following and I quickly made an excuse that I had some lab work to do. Actually, it wasn't that much of a lie, but I wasn't going to do the work I had left on a Saturday evening. Though, I might as well – the evening is a waste spent alone. And there's no way I'll have my night spoilt by that deplorable Elite.

* * *

The curtains were perfect. At least, I thought they were, but in the end it was up to mom to decide. Actually, I knew she would be elated, no matter what I got her. I tried to get something that was in line with the colors in the living room, and now that they were up, they seemed like they were made for our house. We had quietly thrown the old, slightly burnt ones out, and hung the new ones as fast as we could.

Mom had gone to visit a friend of her, and told me she would only be back after dark. Initially I was hopeful that it might be a date, but she told me the friend was a woman.

Lance looked particularly pleased with the curtains, and he all to soon 'forgot' that he set the old ones on fire. Without anything to do, we sat down and watched television. How boring. I would rather battle Lance again, as I'm sure he's dying for vengeance, but it was too dark to really see anything outside. We had to feed all the Pokemon in the garage; all those dragons were huge! It was also odd to see Pikachu and Dragonite playing together, when they had a heated battle just that morning. Guess they really pour their heart and soul into the fight.

"So, how long are you planning on staying?" I asked Lance as we watched our Pokemon socialize and play.

Lance chuckled, "Already tired of me?"

"No, no! That's not what I meant," I laughed. "I'm just curious. There isn't much to do around here, you know. I have to work on Monday again, so you'll be bored all day. Aside from that, there's only me to battle. Maybe Gary, but I don't know if he will."

"Gary can battle?" Lance asked, surprise in his voice. And I guess anticipation too.

"Yeah, he was pretty good in the day. We were kind of rivals, and he always seemed a step ahead of me," I explained; more like reminisced.

"Why'd he stop?"

"I don't really know. He just told me that research is his passion, and that he'll still be around Pokemon, his other passion. I guess it makes sense. It's just odd that he stopped even though he was so good. He could've been Master if he tried."

"Really?" Lance asked rhetorically. I saw him processing the info, and I knew he was going to try and coerce Gary into battling him.

I didn't really know how actively Gary trained his Pokemon these days, but I do remember he had a pretty stringent regime way back then. It would be quite interesting to see Gary battle again. He has some great Pokemon, and I'm sure he'll be able to give Lance some kind of challenge. Hmm, who knows, maybe I could battle Gary. I know my current team is the win team, but I could use some of my other Pokemon that I haven't used for a while. Kind of like a handicap.

"If only Lorelei was here, we could have a nice battle. You know, two on two. You and Gary against me and Lorelei," Lance said.

"Please, I beat her without having any of my Pokemon whiting out," I laughed.

"Maybe, but she and I make a pretty mean team. Ice and dragons are one tough combination," he defended.

We continued joking with each other and just talked about people we've battled. We must sound like two incredibly obsessed guys, but really, there wasn't anything else to talk about. After the Pokemon had finished eating, we let them return to their Pokeballs, and Lance, me and Pikachu started playing a board game.

Just as the little guy was about to win the first round, my mom came to our rescue and arrived home. We tried not to act guilty and made as if we thought the old curtains were just boring. As predicted, she was absolutely elated. I think the fact that they matched the furniture was especially remarkable, and she told us she had felt like burning the old ones at times. We merely giggled.

The evening went along without anything spectacular happening, except that Pikachu was unbeatable. I swear, he was some secret board game champion freak! Before we knew it, it was late and time for bed.

When I found myself, I was in bed and staring at the ceiling. The room was quite, apart from Pikachu's steady breathing and occasional grunt. My thoughts wandered towards Gary and what he wanted to say that morning. I had kind of forgotten about it, and I'm sure Gary was mad at me for not trying to get back to him. I could at least have phoned him and arranged when to meet him again. Tomorrow was Sunday, and a perfect time to see Gary. I felt that I needed to tell him that everything is okay and that I just overreacted.

But I wonder what he wanted to tell me that would make him sound like an idiot. Sure, hearing Gary Oak apologize is rare occasion, but I wouldn't say it made him sound stupid. No, it seemed as if he wanted to say something else. After all, he had told me that he had been confused and I only made things worse – God knows how, but I guess he would've explained if he could finish.

I wonder if it had to do with me seeing him crying the other day, and his awful mood swings. If it was really me, why would me being here make him so moody? I wasn't being mean or anything, and I thought we had gotten over the rivalry and stuff years ago. Damn, I hate questions. I never seem to have any kind of answer.

* * *

Grandpa woke me up early with him making some noise downstairs. Seriously, it sounded like he was moving furniture around, but when I got there, nothing seemed different. Meh, old people. I found him in the kitchen, leaning over some contraption, fiddling with the wires. I took a bowl from the cupboard and poured me some cereal. While I ate, I tried to figure out what Grandpa was working on. It looked as if it could be some kind of pump – for what I don't know.

I washed up, and headed to the lab. The Dratini looked sick and tired, but not more than usual, which was a good thing, I guess. This whole thing was just so weird. It shouldn't be so difficult in locating the virus that was causing them be so sick, and we're running out of ideas on how to look for it. My mind pondered to the sores I had found in their mouths and the disappearance of them in the mouth of the Dratini that bit me. Maybe they were vampire Dratini that needed some blood? Hah, too much vampire-crap these days.

But there had to be some kind of explanation to why that specific Dratini showed some kind of improvement. Was it when it bit my hand, or from something else? The logical thing would be is to let another Dratini bite me and see how it reacts. Vampiric Dratini seemed like a crazy idea, but I guess we were too hopeless to even discount that. We had to give it a try. And, it would be interesting. Imagine the press; the shock.

Without realizing it, I took some Pokemon food and moved to the edge of the tank. I held my hand to one of the Dratini floating around, and sensing food, it seemed a bit more alive. We've been careful when giving them food – they're essentially wild Dratini and had rather sharp teeth, and we don't hand feed them. Just as I had hoped, it snapped at my hand, and took the food – but not without digging it's teeth into my skin. I winced, and pulled my hand away quickly. If they were indeed vampiric, blood would only worsen the situation. A towel lay nearby, and I wrapped it around my hand. It wasn't bleeding badly, and would be fine when the bleeding stopped. It would still treat it for infection – who knows what kind of bacteria lives inside those mouths.

Now came the next question: how long before whatever happened to the other Dratini takes effect, and even if it will take effect? One thing that is certain, is that the sores don't disappear permanently. I remember seeing them return in the mouth of the other Dratini, but at least if I know why disappear it could help a bit.

I took the Dratini that just bit me from the tank and took him to a table near the window that looked out over the fields that belong to Grandpa. The poor thing lifted his head and peeked outside, his eyes heavy and sad. It must be craving its freedom, but I just hope it knows we're keeping them here so we can make them healthy. Our actions could easily be interpreted as experimentation – which essentially it was. But our intentions were pure, and thankfully, Ash was able to convey that to them. If only I knew what was in his touch, in his eyes, so I could comfort these Pokemon too. Damn, it's as if I need Ash everywhere.

I tried my best to tell the Pokemon I'm trying to help, and it seemed to calm down and let me examine it without protest. It was reluctant to open its mouth, and when I did, I still found sores. My hopes weren't crushed, it would be foolish to expect them to heal that fast.

It was then when Grandpa came inside, probably bored tinkering or whatever. His interest immediately shifted to me and the Pokemon, and he gave me a smile. We always managed to work more efficiently without the aides, oddly enough, and it looked as if we might end up spending the entire day in the lab. Such workaholics we are.

I explained my silly theory to Grandpa, but he agreed that there might be something to the sores disappearing after I was bitten. We checked on the Dratini regularly as we went about other ongoing research. We had concocted a new batch of potential vaccines, but we weren't really hopeful. All they ever did was get the Pokemon really doped for a while, before leaving in the exact state they were a few hours earlier. There was also some new brainwave data we collected – a professor from an university in Sinnoh suggested a new technique that apparently yielded better accuracy without the need of new equipment. So far the results weren't really helpful at all.

"You know, perhaps there was some kind of stimulation when the Dratini bit you that made it feel better," Grandpa said as we took a break to get some lunch.

"What do you mean?"

"Like when a Pikachu has a cold, it gets overcharged, and the best way for it to get better is to have it battle to dispel all that electricity," Grandpa explained.

"Yeah, but that's to get rid of excess electricity. These Dratini isn't overcharged or anything," I mused.

"Perhaps, but maybe it's a psychological thing."

"I dunno, Grandpa. Wouldn't we have heard about it, then? And after all, we believe it's viral. I can't see how biting people would stimulate them."

Grandpa sighed heavily, then said, "You're right. It doesn't make sense. I'm just so frustrated."

I walked over to where he stood and put my hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, Gramps. We'll beat this thing."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. I told Grandpa I would get it, and went out of the kitchen and into the foyer.

Finding Ash, alone, was a surprise – one I didn't know was pleasant or not. He gave me a slight smile, before letting himself in. He struggled for a moment to find his words, but then he finally spoke, "I'd like to hear what you wanted to say yesterday."

Damn it! I hadn't really given that thought further than I had yesterday; and yesterday I had decided NOT to tell Ash. I really didn't expect him to show up and asking me to finish. Damn. Shit. Why am I always unprepared when it comes to Ash? I just couldn't get in charge, and worst of all, he was always so oblivious of how nervous I was. And that's just me being stupid, because Ash had this uncanny way of making me feel relaxed. He made me feel comfortable and content. And if it was up to me, he could make me feel that way forever…

And ever, and ever, and ever.

* * *

**A\N: **Yay, a mostly Gary chapter. I compared this instance to the Gary POV I did in a previous chapter, and it seems as if my style differs. If that's just me or me adjusting my style subconsciously to fit the Gary moodswing thing, I dunno, but I kind of like. I'm not sold yet, but perhaps you can tell if I went wrong. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and I hope your as happy as I am that I made my promise. See you again on the 23rd!

atom-bomb


	8. Origins in Melancholy

**Chapter 8**

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**Hello eveyone! Wow, I almost didn't finish in time for the update... You see, this is a, how do I put this, sad chapter of sorts, and it was difficult writing this. Mostly because I identify with both Ash's and Gary's situation, but also because I'm just generally depressed today. Anyhow, this chapter also has a little surprise for you. Could you have spotted it in the chapter name? Oh,** Nya Wolf **asked me how many chapters were left, and my answer is that we're about half way. So, maybe another 8 or 9 more. I'm not sure :)

* * *

The world needs more people like him. People who would just close their eyes and jump. He understood the risks; hell, probably more than anybody. And now look at them – at us. We are on the brink of seizing our dreams, the real ones. This is the moment everyone dreams about, but so few ever get the opportunity to actually experience. This is the time of our lives, and nobody will take it away. I'll make sure of it.

"Test subject 4 from batch D-2," Larsa spoke into the recording device. "Injecting full dosage from viral batch F88."

Larsa slowly injected the Goldeen with the lime colored liquid. The Goldeen was calm; drugged. With all of the virus injected, Larsa withdrew the needle and placed it on the tray near to his right. He gave me an opportunistic glance, and I returned a smile. Years of research, and finally, we are about to finish with results neither of us could ever have predicted.

"If this works," I began, but was unable to finish my sentence. The consequences would just be so unimaginable. We'll be a step away from being legends, gods even.

The Goldeen started panting heavily, it's eyes wide. Larsa noted to the recorder, "Signs of hyperventilation coupled with some anxiety – nothing unexpected."

I leaned forward, looking intently at the Pokemon. I studied it carefully for any sign that the virus might be failing. It was engineered to act fast and aggressively. On top of that, Goldeen was a small Pokemon, so the virus would reach its heart and brain quickly. Then again, the virus would reach everywhere quickly, and start changing. Changing the world. And making us legends.

The Goldeen began flopping violently on the table, and the machinery that was monitoring its vital signs began blaring and flashing. All of them. Every possible danger alarm went off, signaling the Pokemon's imminent death.

"Damnit, the reaction is too severe," Larsa mumbled as he scrambled to save the Pokemon.

I didn't really do anything. The Pokemon's fate was decided. Since we were creating a new batch every day, we didn't bother with a vaccine – it would just slow us down and waste resources. And without a proper vaccine, survival was out of the question. That's just how the virus works – what doesn't make you immortal will surely kill you. At least, that's what the philosophers say about immortality. What we're tampering with, it defies the very principles of nature.

Tried as he might, Larsa couldn't keep the Goldeen alive, and he switched off the noisy monitors. He huffed and looked at the limp Pokemon. He wasn't sorry for it, he was just examining it – looking for oddities. But he found none, and seemed pleased.

"I think we should take a little break," Larsa announced.

"Yeah," I said as I cleaned up; putting the dead Pokemon in a plastic bag and leaving it for the others to dispose of it later. "That Pokemon tournament is on. You want to watch?"

"Hmm," he began while gently rubbing above his right eye; his sign of contemplation. "The one with that kid?"

"Yup. Ash Ketchum. Too young to be a Master, if you ask me, but we'll see if he has what it takes."

Larsa laughed as we left the lab, "Nah, the kid won't last the first of the Elite Four. No one does."

Larsa walked out in front of me, walking quickly through the cold labs of the facility to our rooms. He was so calm and relaxed, it was almost creepy. But then, so was I. After all, we were brothers, and we understood each other perfectly. We knew what had to be done.

"Hey, Larsa," I said just before we reached our room.

"Yeah, Alexander?" he answered with a smile as he turned around to face me.

I also smiled, but then turned serious as I asked, "What batch of Pokemon will we use next?"

"I'm pretty sure I know what went wrong. It'll be easy to fix, and then the virus will be ready. The next time we inject it, it _will _work. So, we can inject a big batch of Pokemon. I'm thinking the Dratini," he answered.

* * *

"How does it feel?" the reporter asked in excitement. She was quickly shoved away by another, asking more or less the same question. The camera lights were flashing, and the crowd was roaring.

Everything was a bit too surreal – my mind was still battling; thinking of the next move to make. But I guess it ended sooner than I had expected. It ended sooner than anyone had ever expected, and now I was the new Pokemon Master. It had been quite a while since anyone had risen to the challenge, and of course, when I came along, people were skeptical. Hell, I think I still am.

"That was amazing! What is your next step?" a female reporter asked. She looked frenzied; creepy. Everyone was clawing at a chance of asking me a question, no one caring that I haven't said a word yet.

"I dunno, maybe just catch my breath for a second," I said, exhausted from the day's battles.

"What do you mean, go on vacation?" the same reporter asked.

"What?" I frowned. "No, I meant like _now_. It's been a long day."

And so it was the entire time I was at the stadium – every single one trying to get a little piece of my attention. Misty and Brock was there, too, but they were in the stands somewhere, and would've been entirely unable to reach me. After all the interviews and congratulations, I finally met up with my friends in the locker rooms. I had sent all my Pokemon with Nurse Joy to get the rest they so well deserved.

We didn't speak much – apart from Misty and Brock's initial congratulation. I think they knew I was a bit in shock. Fancy that, I'm a Pokemon Master. I had dreamt about it since I could remember; the thought the only thing that kept me going sometimes. And now, now I've done the imaginable. The Elite Four fell, and so did the champion. And that means, I'm the new champion.

"Well, I suppose we better celebrate," I said when I was all done.

Brock and Misty lit up, apparently relieved that I seemed normal again, and for all purposes of the word, I was. Well, as normal as anyone can be that had just won the title Pokemon Master.

I couldn't recall if there was some kind of party being hosted for me, or whether I was free to have my own celebration. But, typically, my friends knew exactly what was going on and dragged me to a cab that was to take us to some kind of club. When I was told it was the biggest in the entire city, I felt somewhat queasy – I wasn't experienced in nightlife. All I wanted to do was to be with my friends and Pokemon, and my mom, if she had been here.

During the trip to the club, Misty and Brock managed to get me talking on why I had chosen my particular strategies during my battles, and complementing my ability to change plans on the fly. Of course, they told me how they would have done it, and apparently their course of action would've been less risky that mine. So, it was only my duty as Pokemon Master to inform them that I held their title, not them, so my tactics were obviously better. That had earned me a playful smack from Misty.

I was delighted to learn that the Pokemon Center where they were treating my Pokemon was on the same block as the club, and I asked to cab to quickly stop there to pick up Pikachu, who would've at least recovered by now. The little yellow Pokemon was absolutely elated to see me, and me him. As with most battles, I would never had succeeded were it not for his help, and everybody knew it. He deserved to be part of the celebration. My other Pokemon should also have been there, but Nurse Joy recommended I let them rest a bit, since some of them took a major beating out there. I promised in my heart to make it up to them later.

When we arrived at the club, the party was already in full swing, and crowds of people cheered as we walked in. The music was blaring and the lights flashing vigorously, and the mood was thick with excitement. If was infectious, but at the back of my mind, that thought that something was off stayed. Not in the sense that something is going to happen, more like a sense that things weren't turning out as I thought they would be. Disappointment, if you will.

I was shoved and pulled as everybody wanted to congratulate me. By the time Misty had managed to drag me to our table, my pockets were stashed full of little pieces of papers with numbers scribbled onto them. Who would've thought I'd suddenly become desirably when I really didn't change at all.

Brock had gone to the bar, and came back with our drinks. I tasted mine, and it didn't taste too bad. Actually, I liked it, and thankfully it wasn't heavy with alcohol.

"I know you're a lightweight, so I got you something light," Brock said when I finished testing the drink.

"Yeah, Brock, not everyone crashed every party to chase after girls," Misty giggled as she took a sip from her drink. It looked the same as mine.

Brock had gotten Pikachu a bottle of ketchup, which I guess was exactly what he wanted.

"Hey! I couldn't crash parties _that _often," he defended, laughing. "Not with the two of you getting up so early to force me to cook."

Misty and I both laughed at him, and I said, "That is your own fault. If you hadn't revealed you were such a good cook, we would've done it ourselves."

"_Now _you decide to tell me, when we've accomplished what we set out to do," he snickered.

More or less, I added in my thoughts.

"Anyway, why is it only us?" Misty asked. "Where's May, Max, Tracey

and Dawn?"

"They all had other obligations – May and Dawn is participation in a Coordination contest, Max obviously too young to come on his own and Tracey is on some expedition on some island to find some ancient Pokemon."

Misty rubbed under her chin, "Who would've thought that our original trio would be reunited at the end of your journey?"

I was more rhetorical, and I looked at my friend with great love. My life as I knew it was spent with them, and the adventures we had together were just legendary. A part of me whished that Team Rocket would show up in that balloon of them to try and steal Pikachu or something. And like the idiots they were, we would beat them again and send them packing. Just like old times.

Old times where everything was new and exciting. Where each day was a step into the unknown, filled with excitement and optimism. Forgetting the fact that I was lonely, it was the best thing that could ever have happened to me. Given the chance, I would do it all over again. A hundred times over.

The fans decided that we had enough time on our own, and they started to come up to us and talk some more. I didn't really pay attention – I was still going through all the memories that I had gained over the past eight years. It nostalgic to say the least, and it occurred to me over and over that I never really expected to become Master. In my mind I was going to be on the road forever, in that naïve euphoria. That is where I belong, and where I want to be.

* * *

The action had been spectacular, and the smile on my lips was unfaltering for hours afterwards. Little Ashy-boy had blown away the completion and accomplished the unimaginable. The little boy from Pallet was a god tonight, and I felt an off sense of pride inside of me. I'm sure my grandfather did, too.

I must say, it would've been better if we could actually be there with him, but the announcement of the tournament was unexpected and quick – no one could really adjust their schedule to go, and a lot of people were disappointed they couldn't support their champion in the flesh. Even poor Delia wasn't able to go for the sole reason of not being able to get a flight. But, everyone was huddled into the local bar, eyes still on television, joyously cheering for Ash's victory.

I merely sat and smiled like an idiot. Way to go Ashy-boy, way to go.

To say that I hadn't expected him to come far was a lie. I knew he had it in him, I just never expected to climb to the top this fast. It made me think back to the days where I beat him so easily, if only for the fact that he was easily to distract and anger. When focused, that boy can do anything.

I also had accepted the fact that our relationship had faded to distant friends. Any romantic ideas and dreams I may have entertained a couple of years back were sealed away in the back of my mind – only there when I was in need of the ultimate fantasy. You know, when you're at your worst, and you resort to distraction to subdue your problems. Yeah, I always say Ash as release.

"Can you believe it?" Grandpa asked when he saw me sitting in the corner.

"Eight years ago, never. Now? I guess we all knew this was coming some way or another," I answered, a full beam smeared on my face.

Gramps chuckled, "I agree. Eight years ago, we all imagined you to be on that battlefield."

I frowned at that, "Grandpa, I know I was good, but I was never Master material. Everyone seemed to think so, but I always knew that I wouldn't make it that far."

"Is that one of the reasons why you stopped?"

"I would be more successful as a researcher."

Grandpa eyed me wearily, his cheerful mood slightly faded. Ugh, why did this have to be about me now. I think Grandpa was always torn between the two paths that I had to choose. Fame versus knowledge. Of course, success as a trainer was easily measured, whereas a researcher had to be more humble. Unless they found something big. Which I had yet to do.

"Helping me out in Pallet hardly constitutes as success, Gary. You lost focus, that's what," he said, his voice a bit harsh. "Ash never lost track of his dreams, and look, his life has barely begun and he's already where he wants to be."

"What's your point?"

Grandpa sighed heavily, "My point is Gary, it's no use being regarded as great but not doing great things. It would be a waste to see you stay in Pallet. You can live out your potential in places that can put it to use. Actually, I heard about a new dig near Alph that might interest you."

"Grandpa," I began, rubbing against my temples, "I didn't lose focus. I realize I didn't turn out to be the illustrious grandson you had hoped for, but I'm exactly where I want to be. Can't you accept the fact that I'm willing to trade grandeur for being contempt?"

My grandfather's lips twitched as they wanted to say something, but he decided against it. Instead, he just sighed and dropped it. I could see that he understand my argument. In fact, he should understand it more than anyone.

I stood up, told Gramps I was heading home, and left. The crowd in the bar was a bit too old for me to be entertained, and Grandpa had ruined my good mood. However, my smile returned when I thought of Ash and his victory. I would give anything to be there, if only to tease him on the occasional error during his battles.

I wondered what he would do next? If he had his way, he would be on another journey the next day off to who knows where. The entire world was still left, and the areas he'd seen was just a fraction. There was still much he could conquer and see. I could already see Ash and his friends travelling from city to city. The image seemed perfect, and I longed so much to be in it.

* * *

**A/N: **So, timeline wise, this is set about three weeks, maybe four, before Ash went back to Palltet Town. I'm toying with the idea of a May or Dawn visit, maybe even Misty (I just adore the red headed girl). But I don't know. Also, I set out to create a Lance free chapter, as I realized that most of the attention in the previous chapters was drawn to him... so, this was a perfect way on focussing on the Ash/Gary stuff, while also revealing some of the plot. Can you guess what Larsa and Alexander are up to? Oh, and a nod to **Lanie Kay-Aleese**'s fic, In Ruins, which is perhaps the best piece of literature I've found on FanFiction!

PS. Any names for scientists in the Pokemon series eludes me, plus I wanted original characters. Call it my need to personalize the Pokemon world, but I thought that just recycling existing characters would be boring. I wanted something fresh. Though, Larsa and Alexander aren't completely unrelated from canon :D

PPS. When reading this chapter again, I found a lot of references to games I've been playing recently. Most notably the name Larsa from Final Fantasy XII, and a line I almost copied exactly from Deus Ex. Also, since my experience of Pokemon is more to do with the games, I'm basing the whole 'how to become champion' on how you would in the games - that is, beat the Elite Four, and then the champion. Of course, the requirement is more than just the eight badges. I dunno, I might discuss this in a future chapter. After all, this is slightly AU :P


	9. Feeling the Pressure

**Chapter 9**

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**Oh boy, what do I say here. Look guys, I'm incredibly sorry for the delay, but that past month really sucked. A day before varsity started I got sick. Really sick. I was in the hospital for a few days, and then it took me more than a week to recover at home. You can guess how much work I missed, so I have been really busy the past two weeks. But, I really tried to work on this, and even though this is slightly shorter than usual, I think you'll all find this chapter satisfying. :) Thanks for your support, and sorry if me getting sick disrupted your need for Palletshipping. Hehe

* * *

You're way too good at this. A master at distraction, a master at beating around the bush. Your indecision to just tell me is so frustrating, but on the other hand, I realize more and more that, no matter what you say, I want to hear your voice more than anything. But the fact remains, you can't give me a straight answer – and the worst is, you have me accepting that I won't hear what I want. You're way too good.

I did not expect you to tell me that I'm wasting my potential by working in a lab while I could do so much more – especially now that I know I can do anything. It's quite earnest of you to say that, but at the same time insulting. Are you telling me I should go? Don't you want me here? Like always you confuse the hell out of me, Gary Oak. And I wonder what it is about me, or about you, that just makes me afraid to tell you what I want to. After all, you are the reason why I'm not living my so called dream right now.

Dreams are for little kids and crazy people, and I'd like to believe I'm neither. Can't you accept the fact that I'm trying to act a little more grown up? Like I do for you, you make it difficult for me. Time; just give me time, and I'm sure I'll be able to tell you. I admit, I came here without a moment's thought – never realizing that things wouldn't be so easy. But here I am, and I'm not planning to give up now. Not on you.

If only I could tell you that.

"You're saying I should go?" I asked Gary. He hadn't been able to look me in the eyes.

He gave a sigh, "No, that's not what I meant. Well, I dunno. I just feel you're losing your focus."

"But Gary," I began. I wanted to tell him that there's nothing wrong with that, and that being distracted isn't always a bad thing. But I didn't. Instead I said, "I'm just on vacation. Give me a break. I've been busy for eight years, and now I'm not allowed to take a little time off?"

Gary stared at a spot on the floor. He was quiet as he thought of what he wanted to say to me. I kept my eyes on him, but even in my frustration with him, my eyes betrayed me and studied his beautiful features. His face angular and refined, his hair neatly groomed and styled and his eyes deep and alluring, it was almost more than I could do not to grab him and ravish him right there.

"I guess you're right," Gary admitted in what was just above a whisper.

Then there was silence. Not really awkward, but far from comfortable. No, it's more like we didn't know what to say, even thought we wanted to tell each other exactly how we felt. I know what I want to say, but I'd let Gary tell me his story first. I don't want to make things weird by blurting out I like him, and it turn out he doesn't feel the same about me. That would suck. Fucking big time.

"Gramps told me the exact same thing – that I'm not focused. And I was so mad at him, you know?" Gary said after a while, looking at no particular area on the ground. "I can't believe I'm telling you the same thing. I'm sorry."

"Don't be!" I said, perhaps a little bit too quickly, since Gary's head jerked up. "I mean, I get it. I'm not the vacationer, and I always have some place where I want to go. I can understand you find me staying here a bit weird. _I'm_ finding it weird – especially with Lance here."

Gary regarded me, his expression not betraying a thing. "Yeah, it is strange that he would come here just to battle. Maybe he's bored."

"What do you mean?"

"He's elite four – they don't get that many challenging opponents," Gary explained, a slight smile on his face. "Perhaps he got a taste of what it felt like to do real battle, and is after the adrenaline."

"That's crazy," I laughed.

"Is it?" Gary asked, with a accusational look on his face.

"Okay, maybe not," I conceded, and Gary gave me a little smile.

There were a few minutes of silence. Yeah, I think minutes. But it wasn't weird – it was more like we were thinking about various things. Well, I was thinking why I was actually here. I wasn't so sure demanding the truth from Gary was such a good idea anymore. Our friendship had taken a turn for the strained quite quickly and unexpectedly. I didn't want to lose that.

Gary let out a sigh, and turned to the counter. He got out some coffee mugs, waiving one in my direction. I nodded my head at his silent question, and soon the room was filled with hum of the kettle boiling it's water. Gary made me coffee without asking me how I drank it, but he didn't need to – it seemed like he knew. How odd, I couldn't remember the last time Gary made me coffee, if he ever did. But it warmed my heart, and send 'n wave of weightlessness to my stomach. Oh dear.

He poured us our caffeine and handed me mine. Coffee always reminded me of one thing – mom – and the smell always made me feel kind of homey and relaxed. Gary walked out of the kitchen, and I followed him. He motioned for me to sit on the couch when we got to the living room, and I thought he was going to talk, but instead he went over to the TV cabinet and got out a movie.

"I hope you like cheesy slasher movies, cause that's all I have," he said as he held up some case. From what I could see, there was some scared girl on the cover, with the movie's name written in blood on top.

"Sure," I said, adjusting my position to be more comfortable. "I always found it funny to watch them with either Misty, May or Dawn. Those girls may be demonic sometimes, but they scare so easily."

Gary didn't answer, but I could see the amusement on his face. He inserted the disc, and sat down on the open seat next to me. I suddenly became aware that we were sitting on a love seat, and that he was actually quite close to me. Without being too conspicuous, I moved my legs so that they were rather far away from Gary's, while I held my coffee with both my hands. There wasn't going to be any accidental touches or bumps – not if I could help it. That's not to say I didn't want it to happen, but yeah.

The movie was gory, overly so. Apparently, Gary had never seen the movie, and neither had I, so at each of the cheap scares, we flinched ever so slightly. It was actually quite funny – the movie that is – it was mindless and pointless, but I guess that was the idea behind it. About halfway through I offered to make us some more coffee, and returned shortly after with our fresh cups. Gary took his cup without even looking at me, seeming too engrossed in what was happening on the screen.

Gary finished his cup in a matter of minutes, while mine got a bit cold and stayed full. Some sort of vibe had gotten into me. I don't know how to explain it, but sitting on the sofa watching a movie with Gary was oddly awesome. It was something I've never really done before, least of all with Gary. Not that we were cuddling or anything, but I could have sworn the mood made me feel romantic.

"JESUS!" Gary panicked as something screeched on the screen, accompanied by the sudden appearance of a monster, women screaming in fear, and me caught off guard so bad, I spilled my coffee all over my lap from shock.

"Oh shit," I said stupidly as I quickly got up.

"What?" Gary queried, confused as hell. Then he saw my stained pants. "Oh my god! Are you okay? Is it still hot?"

"I'm fi-"

Before I could really finish, Gary was up and dragging me to kitchen, apologizing profusely every step of the way. I was like a deer caught in headlights as he pulled me by the arm. Okay, maybe it was just his skin pressing against mine. Yeah, that's what got me to follow him silently. He grabbed a cloth, but he didn't give it to me.

He started rubbing the stain on my pants – in the area of my crotch.

"Ash, I'm so sorry," he pleaded as he wiped. "Really, I didn't mean to scare you like that, sorry."

Gary wiped like mad, and subsequently, I was pushed against the counter. So there I was, with Gary leaning dangerously close to my privates, rubbing against them. We all know where this was going to lead to – and fast. If not already.

"Gary, please st-"

"Dammit, I'm such a girl sometimes. Hell Ash, I'm so embarrassed," he rambled on. Damn. Shit.

"Gary," I said again. But he didn't listen, and just continued with his weird rambling. "Gary! Please, stop."

He stopped.

He looked up at me, his eyes wide. A second later, he snapped what I was trying to communicate. His hand that was lingering above my manhood was quickly retracted, and Gary turned red, "I'm such an idiot. Shit, Ash, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. I practically violated you. I'm so sor-"

"If you say that one more time," I mock-threatened, and he shut up. "What's wrong with you? You're freaking out. You never do. It's just coffee, relax."

He sighed heavily, and looked at the floor. "I know, it's pathetic of me. It's just…" he trailed off.

"Just what?"

"I," he tried. He looked up. "I… I don-"

I pushed my lips against his, and his words drowned instantly. I grabbed his shoulders, and kissed him as best I could. He was shocked – I could tell by his static lips. But damn, that didn't stop him from tasting good. Actually, if I had to say, he tasted more than good. It's a taste I'll never forget.

Then he parted his lips slightly.

So I did what any boy in my position would do: I slid my tongue inside. I could feel the shock in Gary, but he only widened his mouth, and before I knew it, his hands were on my neck, tugging me closer. The feeling was wonderful, and it felt like I could die right there and then. I lowered my hands to his lower back, and pulled slightly. Gary's whole torso was pressed to mine, and the heat was godly. His lithe frame against mine felt out of this world, and I almost lost all sense of self control.

I pulled away slowly from Gary. He was an utter mess – all shocked and wide eyed, with his lips slightly in a pout. I gave him a sly grin, pasted another chaste kiss on his lips and let him go entirely.

"Good night, Gary."

* * *

The whole way home I was grinning like an idiot. I could still taste Gary on my lips, and his heat lingered in my clothes. A part of me was furious at myself for leaving him just like that, but the other part was pleased that I actually followed some of Brock's advise. I just hoped it worked. Though, it couldn't have been _that _disastrous, since he kissed me back, right?

Gary hadn't followed me out the door. In fact, he remained stationary where I left him, probably still in shock. It was quite adorable and it sent butterflies to my stomach to see him like that. You know, he had that 'I-just-got-ravished' look.

When I got inside, Lance was sitting on the loveseat, with Pikachu on his lap, while mom was in her usual recliner with a mug of coffee in her hand. Their eyes were glued to the TV, and just one glance told me to look away – it was some soppy drama thing. The woman was crying, and the man seemed indifferent. Hah, cheater. Lance looked at me and scooted so that I could sit next to him. He must have seen my face, because he gave me knowing smile.

"So, how did it go?" he asked, although he knew the answer already.

"Oh, I don't know," I drawled. I noticed mom peering at me in a funny way. "We sorted things out, we're fine now."

Lance studied my face for a few moments, before turning his attention to the TV again. "Good, I'm glad. Not that I know what was going on, but that kid seriously had some bad PMS."

I laughed, and I caught a giggle from mom too. "Yeah, he used to be so calm and confident when he was younger. I guess he got some emotions when he hit puberty."

I sat there for a while, trying to watch what was on the TV. But really, it was so boring, so I excused myself, claiming I was tired. I was a little bit, but not enough so that I would fall asleep. I grabbed me a glass of water and headed to my bedroom, with Pikachu following me.

I plopped myself on my bed, and my Pokemon jumped on my chest. The weight startled me, but he wasn't too heavy to handle. He looked at me with confusion – I was smiling again. He cocked his head, "Pika?"

"I did it, Pikachu," I told him. "I made my move."

His face lit up and he gave me a huge smile. Naturally to him, all my problems would be sorted out with that simple action. Hah. If it only was that simple. Tomorrow was approaching, together with work – and Gary. I was curious to see how he would react towards me, and a part of me was rather nervous. Even though he had kissed me back, that's no real reason to just assume everything would be okay. I don't know for how long I lay there – having eventually shoved my fears, and instead remembering Gary on my lips.

* * *

The Pokemon beside the man purred like a living diesel engine. It rubbed his head against the hand hanging idly from the chair. It freaked me out.

"It's been two months since you've said you figured out the formula. Why no results, then?" the man asked. His voice was calm, but commanding.

"I do not know what is wrong," Larsa explained. He was standing beside me, and I could hear the frustration in his voice. He wasn't used to failure. And neither was I. "We've tried countless of variations of the virus, but each time it just won't take."

The man regarded us in silence, while the Pokemon continued to make noises of contempt. "Are you telling me it's impossible?"

"No," I said. "We simply need more time. I'm sure we can do this."

Silence.

"I've heard this before," he said, irate. "Long ago. Wouldn't it be better to just replace the two of you? My patience grow thin."

"Sir!" Larsa exclaimed. "Engineering perfection takes time. It's unnatural – it's to be expected to encounter such difficulties. But like my brother said, all we need is time. We've tried many combinations of the virus, but not all of them."

The man raised his hand to his chin in contemplation, and the Pokemon glared at us – as if it was our fault he could no longer rub against his master's hand. It was quite intimidating to stand there and being scrutinized like you were a meal, and I wished I could just go.

"Very well, another week. No more," he said, his voice threatening.

I swallowed. "Understood."

As we turned around to walk away, I heard him talking to his Pokemon, "Come, Persian, it's time to eat."

Damn, that Giovanni was creepy.

* * *

**A/N: **I reread the previous chapter, and noticed a few horrid grammar and spelling mistakes. If you just read chapter 8, I'm so sorry. I'll fix it sometime, but I'm just so tired at the moment. Anyway, I hoped you all liked this chapter. Obviously we've all been wating for this, and now the precarious task lies ahead of me to expand on what transpired, and keep it believable yet delicious - a task most fail at more often than not in my opinion.

About updating, I'll try to stick to the 10 day thing, so expect an update on the 12th. Till next time then!


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